The May Day holiday is approaching, and many people choose to travel to relax, but holiday travel will inevitably bring problems such as crowded traffic and difficult to find tickets for popular attractions, which will affect the travel experience.
The reporter interviewed cultural and tourism departments, industry organizations and a number of travel experts in many places to present you with this holiday travel guide.
- Difficult to travel? It is important to plan well
This year's "May Day" holiday tourism market is still hot.
According to data released by Fliggy, the popularity of domestic travel bookings for domestic travel during this year's May Day holiday continued to significantly exceed that of the same period in 2019, with both per capita bookings and per capita booking value increasing. The "2024 May Day Travel Trend Insight Report" released by Ctrip also shows that from the current booking situation, this year's "May Day" tourism popularity has increased steadily on the basis of last year's high.
The expansion of the mainland's "visa-free circle of friends" has also led to an increase in the popularity of inbound tourism. According to Ctrip data, inbound travel bookings for the May Day holiday increased by 130% year-on-year. The domestic destinations that foreign tourists like to go to are also popular tourist cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Qingdao and Xi'an.
On April 27, 2024, on the occasion of the "May Day" holiday, the passenger flow of Shenyang Railway Dalian Station increased significantly. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
In the face of the peak holiday travel, how to make travel smoother and more comfortable? Senior travel bloggers believe that it is important to plan well and book tickets as soon as possible after determining the destination, so that it is possible to grab the "early bird price" and leave time for subsequent changes in the itinerary.
At present, the pre-sale period of railway tickets has been adjusted to 15 days, and refunds are free of charge for 8 days or more before departure. Airline industry insiders told reporters that many airlines have adopted the "tiered rate" of the refund and change rules, different classes of tickets have different refund and change requirements and fees, if it is a ticket booked through a third-party travel platform, the platform may also have its own additional conditions for refund and change, and you must understand clearly before purchasing tickets.
Industry insiders suggest that you can make full use of the built-in functions of some map apps, mark the places you want to go to on the map in advance and plan the route to avoid traffic restriction areas. Use the real-time monitoring function of some scenic spots to stagger the peak flow of people.
- There are too many people? Niche tourism is worth trying
Wang Shouning, 27, is a travel expert who is particularly adept at discovering some niche attractions, and has more than 100,000 followers on social platforms. In his opinion, relatively niche attractions can not only avoid the rush of people, but also feel the different beauty of the city.
On April 16, 2024, visitors visit the Fisherman's Wharf in Laohutan, Dalian. In April, the weather in the north became warmer, and the number of tourists in various tourist attractions in Dalian, Liaoning Province increased significantly, and Dalian gradually entered the tourist season. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Peng
Niche tourist attractions, personalized travel methods are becoming the new favorite of holiday travel. The cultural and tourism departments in many places are also focusing on creating special attractions and activities to attract the attention of tourists.
Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has opened a limited-time free bus line "Bus to Spring", which passes through a number of cultural and tourism landmarks, and tourists can not only enjoy the elm leaves and plums blooming all over the city, but also get on and off at any stop to visit the scenic spots.
Lulikeng Village, Changshan County, Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province, has taken advantage of the county's tourism boom to "turn waste into treasure" some collective waste resources - an art gallery renovated from pigsty and sheep sheds, a café converted from a sheep shed, and a camp transformed from a lime kiln, which are popular among young tourists.
"April and May are the season when the pomelo blossoms bloom. We seized the peak of the 'May Day' passenger flow and planned the camping kite life festival, so that tourists can smell the fragrance of flowers and chase the wind happily. Yu Jiafu, head of the Luli pit camp in Huibu Town, Changshan County, said.
This is a special line for flower viewing recently opened in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
Some popular scenic spots are also focusing on developing new areas and new models to disperse the flow of tourists and improve the tourist experience.
In addition to the must-visit attractions such as Tianchi, waterfalls, and hot springs, Changbai Mountain Scenic Area has opened up new scenic spots such as the surrounding Demon World Scenic Area, Laoling Primeval Forest, and Xianren Bridge. Four museums in Wuwei, Gansu Province, have started the "night tour mode", extending their opening hours four times a week, and have also designed a series of activities and themed exhibitions related to night tours.
Industry experts suggest that when looking for niche tourist destinations, it is necessary to improve safety awareness, and must choose scenic spots that are safe and reliable, with guaranteed services, and not rush to unexplored "wild spots" in pursuit of novelty and put yourself in a dangerous situation.
- Unsafe? These risks should be noted
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a message on the 26th, reminding tourists to enhance their awareness of flood season prevention, pay close attention to the weather conditions at the destination and along the way, and be alert to the safety risks caused by natural disasters such as landslides, rockfalls, mudslides, and flash floods when visiting mountainous areas, river valleys and other areas;
For outbound travelers, the Chinese embassies in Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands and other countries have also issued reminders.
The Chinese Embassy in Thailand recommends that tourists purchase overseas travel accident insurance in advance, wear life jackets in advance in strict accordance with the guidelines when participating in water sports, be familiar with the use of relevant equipment and emergency measures, be vigilant against "low-cost travel", and stay away from "pornography, gambling and drugs".
The Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands reminds tourists to take good care of their personal documents and belongings. Pay special attention to anti-theft and anti-robbery at airports, railway stations, trains and popular scenic spots.
Tourists take photos at the Temple of Truth in Pattaya, Thailand, March 29, 2024. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Teng
For the problems and disputes that may be encountered in accommodation, catering, and shopping, many travel experts suggest that after booking travel products on the online platform, you can confirm with the merchant by phone in time to prevent the merchant from inquiring about the online order, and the merchant and the online platform prevarication. When shopping, shop around and keep invoices and other consumption vouchers.
The reporter learned from the State Administration for Market Regulation that local market supervision departments have strengthened monitoring and early warning, paid close attention to the trend of price changes in the tourism market, and reminded and warned tourism practitioners. Market supervision departments at all levels will unblock the 12315 complaint and reporting platform, do a good job on duty, strengthen coordination and cooperation with relevant departments, open up information channels, and form a tourism market supervision situation of co-construction, co-governance and sharing.
Source: Xinhua News Agency