Since the "May Day" is going to be taken off, then it is better to take a few more days off! This year's "May Day" holiday has once again appeared a lot of vacationing tourists: they have chosen the strategy of "asking for 3 days off and 9 days off", that is, if they take leave or take a holiday from April 28 to 30, they can get a super long vacation of 9 consecutive days from April 27 to May 5. This phenomenon is also supported by booking data from multiple online travel platforms, with the first wave of travel peaking during the May Day holiday expected to occur on April 27.
Visitors watch seabirds at Dalian Laohutan Fisherman's Wharf.
At the Xishuangbanna Station of the China-Laos Railway, staff welcome passengers.
Domestic long-haul travel accounts for nearly half
Outbound travel accounts for 30%.
According to Tuniu's statistics, nearly 17% of tourists choose to travel for more than 5 days, and they prefer to leave before the holiday to avoid the rush hour. In terms of travel choices, domestic long-term travel is the choice of more tourists, accounting for 46% of the total number of trips, and the popularity of outbound travel has increased significantly, accounting for 31% of the total number of trips.
Fei Changzhun pointed out that the air ticket price of this year's "May Day" popular outbound destinations is more cost-effective: the price of domestic air tickets to Japan starts at 500 yuan, the price of domestic air tickets to Singapore starts at 448 yuan, the domestic air ticket price starts at 548 yuan to Thailand, and the price of domestic air tickets to South Korea starts at 415 yuan. Such outbound tickets are even cheaper than some domestic tickets.
As of April 16, the number of domestic passenger flights to and from Japan has recovered to more than 70% of the same period in 2019, with an average of 246 round-trip flights per day in the past week, the number of domestic passenger flights to and from Singapore has been close to the level of the same period in 2019, with an average of 103 round-trip flights per day in the past week, and the number of domestic passenger flights to and from Thailand has recovered to more than 60% in the same period of 2019, with an average of 246 round-trip flights per day in the past week.
According to the statistics of Ctrip, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, the United States, Indonesia, Australia, France, and Vietnam are popular countries for outbound travel this year. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and other countries along the "Belt and Road" orders increased at a higher year-on-year rate.
In terms of inbound travel, bookings also increased by 130% year-on-year, with major inbound countries including Japan, the United States, South Korea, Canada, Malaysia, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Australia, Russia and France. Popular domestic destinations for foreign tourists include Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Qingdao, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Xi'an, and Kunming.
Small cities have become "not expensive and not crowded" destinations
With the improvement of infrastructure and tourism reception capacity in various places, more and more tourist destinations in lower-tier markets are welcomed. Tianshui, Xuzhou, Zibo, Hefei, Nanchang, Diqing, Jingdezhen, Shijiazhuang, Yantai, Huangshan and other cities have become the cities with the fastest growth rate in hotel bookings for this year's May Day holiday. According to Ctrip data, hotel bookings in the county market during the May Day holiday increased by 68% year-on-year, and scenic spot ticket orders increased by 151% year-on-year, which was higher than the national market. Cities such as Tumshuk, Baoshan, Huaihua, Chifeng, Hotan, and Heze with regional airports have seen a significant year-on-year increase in air ticket bookings, most of which exceed 50%.
Scenery of Sizhoutang Village, Shengsi County, Zhoushan City, Zhejiang.
During the hot holidays, small cities with small airports become "not expensive and not crowded" destinations. According to the average price paid for air tickets, the price change in the off-season compared with the previous month, and the price change in 2023 compared with the same period in 2023, Qunar screened out the small cities with airports worth playing during the "May Day" period, such as Hailar and Baotou in Inner Mongolia, Yulin in Shaanxi, Enshi in Hubei, Ganzhou in Jiangxi, Zunyi and Xingyi in Guizhou, Rizhao and Dongying in Shandong, Wuhu in Anhui, etc. Compared with larger cities, the price of hotels in small cities is lower, about 400 yuan can live in high-end, luxury hotels, catering, transportation, shopping and other comprehensive expenses are also about half lower than that of large cities, and it is more cost-effective to travel to small cities during holidays.
Concerts and film and television dramas have become the driving force of urban tourism
Since the beginning of this year, cultural and tourism departments in various parts of the country have made efforts on social media platforms, allowing tourists to tap many "potential stocks" for tourism and vacation. Music performances and film and television drama framing have ushered in a highlight moment for these "potential stocks". Tongcheng Travel data shows that during the "May Day" holiday, Yantai ranked first in the list of domestic tourism popularity. Because Hua Chenyu's "Sunrise Concert" is about to be held here, it has attracted the attention of many fans. As the filming location of the hit drama "Walking with the Phoenix", the tourism popularity of Lishui, Zhejiang has also risen sharply, and it has entered the top ten of the "May Day" tourism popularity list.
On the Ctrip platform, Deng Ziqi's Tianjin concert, Chengdu 2024 Tang You Cup, and music festivals in Tianjin, Xiamen, Changzhou and other places held during the "May Day" holiday are popular with tourists, and the search popularity is high. In Taiyuan, two concerts by Ren Xianqi and Xue Zhiqian drove a year-on-year increase of 105% in hotel orders, of which foreign tourists accounted for 90%.
Outbound travelers tend to explore smaller towns
It is worth mentioning that in addition to popular destinations such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and South Korea, tourists also tend to explore small cities abroad. On the Qunar platform, as of April 15, 957 hotels in foreign cities have been booked by Chinese tourists. Niche routes such as the 7-day tour of Murmansk in Russia, Athens + Santorini + Zazhinsos + Peloponnese 7-day tour, and the 7-day tour of the Iberian Peninsula are also booked by tourists.
For traditional popular destinations, travelers are no longer satisfied with "group tours" to explore small towns. For example, Burgundy in France, which is rich in fine wine, Otaru in Japan, which is beautiful in "Love Letters", and Zermatt in Switzerland, which can ski all year round, etc. The farthest traveler stayed in Recife, the hometown of Brazilian star Rivaldo.
In terms of travel methods, many Chinese people who travel abroad on May Day this year no longer choose to buy in a hurry, but make an appointment with a local guide to follow the footsteps of the locals for an immersive experience: experience desert sand bathing in Dubai, visit parks in Osaka, and take a day trip to Kuala Lumpur for food. Ctrip said that in the first half of April, the number of orders for overseas local guides increased by 60% year-on-year, and it is expected to increase by 90% year-on-year during the "May Day" period. Bangkok, Phuket, Dubai, Osaka, Kuala Lumpur, and Hong Kong are popular places to make reservations for outbound guides, and some guides have already booked up for the entire May Day holiday.
● Travel more carefully
Mistaken ticket dates
It costs twice as much to rebook
"I was stupid and cried to myself, I booked the ticket a day earlier than the visa, and the ticket price doubled after the change. Media person Ah Yu plans to travel to Italy during the May Day holiday. His itinerary departed from Guangzhou on April 25 and was ready to spend 10 days exploring Italy in depth. From Rome in Italy, it travels north, then Florence, Venice, Milan and finally Amsterdam in the Netherlands. "Rome and Florence are places I've always wanted to visit, with plenty of historical sites and cultural landmarks that I'm really looking forward to. ”
Although he is looking forward to traveling, the high hotel and air ticket prices still make Ah Yu call it "meat pain". "Express hotels in the city cost more than 2,000 yuan a night. What's worse is that the price of the ticket is very cost-effective, only 4,900 yuan round trip including tax. I didn't expect it to be a day earlier than the effective date of the visa, so I had to spend twice as much money to change the visa. There is no way, otherwise it will be embarrassing to go to the airport and not let you go. ”
● Multi-point way to travel
The two families were divided into two routes
Go wherever you get a ticket
"I didn't expect the train tickets for May Day to be so hard to grab. Fortunately, my sister and I are separated!" Xiaoxiao and her sister plan to travel with their babies. At 10 o'clock on April 16, Xiaoxiao and her sister grabbed the train ticket from Guangzhou to Wuzhou on the evening of April 30 on the ticketing platform, but they didn't expect the train ticket to Wuzhou to be "seconds". As soon as the two combined, they decided to change their vote-grabbing strategy and act separately.
Xiaoxiao and her sister's approach is to enter all the ID card information of the two families respectively, and when the tickets for May 1 were opened at 10 o'clock on April 17, Xiaoxiao checked the information of the two families to grab the tickets in the direction of Guiyang, and the sister grabbed the tickets in the direction of Nanning for the two families. In the end, although Xiaoxiao still failed to grab the ticket, fortunately, her sister successfully grabbed the ticket for the two families to Nanning. "This year's 'May Day' travel destination has finally been finalized, and it is Nanning!" Xiaoxiao excitedly announced in the circle of friends.
Written by: New Express reporter Li Jiawen Xu Wanjie
Photo: Xinhua News Agency