Chinese tourists showed more interest in destinations closer to home and focused more on safety in travel consumption in 2020, a recent report showed.

A man takes a picture at a scenic spot. (Photo: CFP)

Short-distance travel registered the fastest recovery from the COVID-19 setbacks within the tourism industry since the second quarter of last year, according to a report by Chinese travel service and social-networking platform Mafengwo.

Metropolises' outskirts and neighboring cities, such as Beijing's Yanqing District and Tonglu County in the east Chinese city of Hangzhou, became tourists' top choices for such trips.

Meanwhile, safety topped all concerns for Chinese tourists during their trips, followed by accommodation and transport, the report said.

It also showed that tourists born after 2000 are becoming an important group in travel consumption, accounting for 14.5 percent of the total tourist number last year.