THE city’s airport saw more than 1.6 million travelers last year, a 3.2 percent increase year on year. Meanwhile, the airport saw almost 13,000 inbound and outbound flights last year, similar to the number in 2010. The increase in the number of inbound and outbound traveler is mainly the result of the growth in the number of outbound tourists and people who study abroad. Some 120,000 Chinese passengers went to South Korea for travel or study through the airport last year. Taiwan was another popular destination for domestic travelers and a source of travelers to the mainland. There are 20 regular flights between Qingdao and Taiwan each week. More than 37,000 mainland travelers headed for Taiwan through the city’s airport last year while over 53,000 Taiwanese arrived in the mainland through the airport, a 19 percent and 8.6 percent increase respectively. (Li Hao, Liu Zhenxing) | 