In the past few days, Xiao Zhang, who works in Hangzhou, has listened to his office colleagues discussing the "May Day" travel plan: some people have bought tickets to Thailand, and some people are ready to drive to Zibo.
She plans to start a "reverse tour", go to the homestay in Lin'an Mountain with three or five friends to sleep until she wakes up naturally, climb the mountain, look at the starry sky, and focus on a sense of relaxation.
"'May Day' train tickets are hard to buy, and there are long queues at scenic spots, so it's better to enjoy nature. Xiao Zhang said that she had booked a room last week and was ready to have a three-day and two-night "lying tour".
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
This "May Day" holiday, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, live in a country house between the mountains, forests and clouds, give the soul a holiday, and become the first choice for more and more people.
Located in Lin'an, the western suburbs of Hangzhou, is this "May Day" homestay still as popular as ever?
B&Bs are nearly 90% booked, which is slightly less than last year
The May Day holiday is coming, and these days, Mr. Wang, the owner of Xianyunyou B&B, located at the foot of Taizijian Mountain in Lin'an, is busy cleaning the courtyard, mowing the lawn, and arranging amusement facilities, preparing to welcome a large number of tourists staying at the hotel.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
He said that "May Day" is one of the peak seasons of the year for Lin'an B&B, and his B&B is currently fully booked from May 1 to 3, and only half of the rooms are still available on May 4.
Taizijian is one of the famous "Three Tips in Western Zhejiang", where the sunrise of the sea of clouds and the Milky Way of the stars attract many tourists.
"The tourists who come to stay on May Day are all young people, mainly in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, most of them come to climb the mountain to enjoy the sunrise, and if the weather is good, you can still see the starry sky at night. Mr. Wang said that during the "May Day" period, the azaleas on Taizijian Mountain are in full bloom, which is also very suitable for flower viewing and taking pictures.
At present, the overall booking situation of his B&B this year's "May Day" is slightly worse than that of the same period last year, which may be affected by the weather. "However, there is still more than a week before the 'May Day', and it should be all booked by then. Mr. Wang said.
Zhang Huiyun, the owner of Moon Workshop in Moon Bridge Village, Tianmushan Town, Lin'an, said that four days before May Day, a total of 17 rooms in their homestay were fully booked.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
"This year, I basically booked one or two months in advance, and in previous years, I booked the next year a year in advance. She said that this year's "May Day" is basically old guests, there are Hangzhou locals, as well as Shanghai, Jiangsu, they are all here for leisure and vacation, some book 2 days, some book 4 days, many families or friends will travel collectively will also charter a whole room.
Because the B&B is located at the foot of Tianmu Mountain, many tourists who come to stay will spend a day climbing the mountain.
"I also recommend them to take a look around the surrounding rose gardens, which are just starting to bloom during May Day. Zhang Huiyun said.
There are also people who come for pure leisure vacations. For example, a Shanghai tourist who booked a room for four nights and stayed once during the Spring Festival this year, "They said that this time they came with friends, sat in the yard to play cards, ate farm food, and slept until they woke up naturally, and relaxed." ”
Chao News reporter learned from the Lin'an B&B Association that at present, the overall booking volume of Lin'an B&B during the "May Day" period has reached 85%-90%, a slight decrease from last year, but some B&Bs that provide special experiences are still as popular as ever.
From check-in tourism to experiential tourism, parent-child research and nature exploration are becoming more and more popular
"The rooms during the 'May Day' period were fully booked in March. ”
With the theme of parent-child nature exploration, Xiyu B&B has attracted many parent-child families during this "May Day" holiday.
Mr. Zhu, the shopkeeper, said that his homeowner carried out the theme activities of parent-child research. For example, during the "May Day" period, he would take his staying parent-child family into the surrounding bamboo forest, looking for insects and edible plants during the day, and exploring the "mountain spirits" hidden in the dark at night, such as large tree frogs.
"Hangzhou Tianmu Mountain is a beautiful natural environment and rich biodiversity area, this season there are many raspberries, mulberries and bamboo shoots in the wild, as well as many insects and amphibians. Mr. Zhu said.
"Children in cities are getting less and less in contact with nature, and many parents are starting to take their children into nature and understand nature. He said that from the opening of the store in 2018 to the present, his most intuitive feeling is that parent-child research travel is "becoming more and more popular every year".
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
"Now travel is becoming more and more convenient, everyone's travel choices are more, many people say that homestays are becoming more and more difficult to do, this year many homestays in Hangzhou are rolling prices, which are helpless to deal with fierce competition. Mr. Zhu believes that in the future, B&Bs can rely on content and themes to differentiate themselves from hotels through experiential tourism and cultural tourism.
Analysys tourism industry analyst Wang Ke told Chao News reporter that B&Bs will continue to develop in the direction of boutique and differentiation, and to find their own positioning and characteristics, low-priced, ordinary, and featureless B&Bs will not be able to compete with hotels.
Since the beginning of this year, Moon Workshop B&B has also added outdoor experience activities such as digging bamboo shoots and picking tea.
"Nowadays, young people are interested in outdoor activities that cannot be experienced in the city, and this is one of the ways that our B&B attracts customers. Zhang Huiyun said.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
For this generation of young people, the experience of travel is becoming more and more important than punch-in sightseeing tours.
"In fact, the essence of tourism is to go to a different place to live and experience, popular tourist destinations are usually crowded and expensive, so many tourists hope to find niche destinations to relax, which is also a common phenomenon in current tourism. With the improvement of traffic conditions and the improvement of local service levels, 'reverse tourism' should be favored by more and more tourists. Wang Ke said. (Source: Qianjiang Evening News reporter Jin Meng)