Who is the winner of "May Day" cultural tourism?

Times Finance

2024-05-06 17:27Posted on the official account of Guangdong Times Finance

Source of this article: Times Finance Author: Wang Chenting

"It feels like 100 million people have come to each scenic spot. ”

The small long holiday that has just ended has become the hottest "May Day" holiday in history. According to data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on the 6th, the total number of domestic tourism trips nationwide was 295 million, and the total travel expenditure was 166.89 billion yuan, both exceeding the same period in 2023 and 2019.

Local cultural and tourism departments have successively announced the number of holiday tourists and income. According to incomplete statistics from Times Finance, at least 10 provinces have received more than 10 million tourists. Among them, continuing the hot cultural tourism market during the Spring Festival, the number of tourists and income in Inner Mongolia have more than doubled.

Avoiding "crowds" and finding niche destinations has become the choice of many tourists. Because of this, the growth rate of outbound travel is higher than that of domestic travel, and the growth rate of small counties outperforms that of big cities, which are the two biggest characteristics of this "May Day" trip.

According to data from the National Immigration Administration, more than 8 million people entered and exited the country during the May Day holiday, an increase of 35.1% over the same period last year. Tongcheng Travel data shows that in dozens of third-tier cities and below, hotel bookings increased by more than 100% year-on-year.

Who is the winner of "May Day" cultural tourism?

The rise of "reverse tourism" in the countryside. (Source: Times Weekly reporter Wang Chenting/photo)

Henan temporarily ranked first in the number of receptions

According to incomplete statistics from Times Finance, as of 15 o'clock on May 6, the 14 provinces that have released the "May Day" tourism data have basically achieved a double increase in the number of people and income. Due to weather conditions, Guangdong's growth rate declined slightly compared with the same period last year, but it still achieved growth compared with the same period in 2019.

Among them, Henan temporarily ranked first with more than 60 million tourists, and its tourism revenue reached 35.42 billion yuan, an increase of 11.8% and 14.2% respectively over the same period last year. Anhui followed closely behind, receiving nearly 50 million tourists and earning 27.28 billion yuan in tourism revenue.

The number of tourists and income exceed the traditional tourism provinces of Sichuan, Guangdong and other places, Henan in addition to Luoyang, Kaifeng and other historical and cultural tourism resources, what else is it doing right?

In the release of the Henan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, it was highlighted that the "Walking with Hui" team came to Yu before the festival (April 25-29). Dong Yuhui's team successively went to Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Anyang, and Kaifeng to promote Henan's cultural tourism, and the number of media broadcasts in Henan reached 2.8 billion, which had a good drainage effect.

Luoyang City has therefore become the city with the largest net inflow of tourists in the country, and Kaifeng's museum ticket orders rank among the top five in the country. Affected by radiation and cascading effects, the heat of Xinxiang, Nanyang, and other cities in Henan Province has increased simultaneously.

The provinces with the highest growth rate in the number of tourists received during the May Day holiday are Inner Mongolia and Liaoning. During the Spring Festival holiday, the tourism revenue of Inner Mongolia and Liaoning increased by 7.63 times and 5.72 times respectively. During the May Day holiday, the growth rate of tourism revenue between the two places was also far ahead, with a year-on-year increase of 177% and 98.5% respectively.

It is worth mentioning that Liaoning's per capita tourism expenditure is also quite high, at 1,046 yuan, which is the only two provinces that have released data to exceed 1,000 yuan, second only to Beijing's per capita tourism expenditure of 1,156 yuan.

From the perspective of cities, the top ten most popular tourist destinations during the May Day holiday are Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Xi'an, and Shenzhen.

"This year's May Day is a sign of the full recovery of the tourism market. Xiao Peng, a researcher at Qunar Big Data Research Institute, said to Times Finance and Economics that during this year's "May Day" period, the capacity of flights, trains and the reception capacity of hotels and B&Bs have exceeded those in 2019. The development of the national tourism market and the willingness of tourists to consume are more balanced, there is no absolutely unpopular city, and there are fewer cases of "hard to find a bed" and "hard to find a ticket", and the development of the tourism industry is more healthy and sustainable.

Beijing is still the top 10 popular tourist destinations. (Source: Times Weekly reporter Wang Chenting/photo)

The number of inbound tourists from visa-free countries is more than 2.5 times

The travel market is hot, and there are some trends worth noting.

According to the "2024 May Day Holiday Tourism Consumption Report" released by Tongcheng Travel, during the "May Day" holiday, the popularity of hotel bookings in dozens of third-tier cities and below increased by more than 100% year-on-year. According to Ctrip data, the trend of tourism sinking is more obvious, and the year-on-year growth rate of tourism orders shows obvious characteristics, with first- and second-tier cities smaller than third- and fourth-tier cities, and third- and fourth-tier cities smaller than county markets.

"Checking in" niche Internet celebrity cities has become a travel choice for more young people. From Zibo barbecue to Tianshui Malatang, to Kaifeng Wangpo and Quanzhou hairpin, the Internet celebrity cities that are out of the circle with local characteristics have become destinations for holiday short-distance travel.

Qunar data shows that the number of "May Day" hotel bookings in Zibo, Tianshui, Liuzhou and other cities increased by more than 1 times year-on-year. According to rough calculations, the per capita consumption of a meal of Tianshui Malatang is 30 yuan, driving local consumption of 650 yuan, and experiencing Quanzhou hairpin flowers is only 40 yuan, driving local consumption of 900 yuan...... Out of the niche Internet celebrity cities, driven by the check-in craze, the overall consumption can be magnified by nearly 20 times.

"The sinking market has a low base and more room for growth. Wang Yalei, an industry analyst at Ctrip Research Institute, said that tourists' pursuit of more relaxation and cost-effectiveness has accelerated the sinking trend. Compared with the "crowded" in first- and second-tier cities, the sinking market provides the possibility for tourists to spend their holidays in a relaxed and relaxed manner. Moreover, compared with the high cost of accommodation and catering during the holidays in first- and second-tier cities, the sinking market is also more cost-effective.

Travel trends during the May Day holiday in 2024 (Source: Ctrip)

In addition to "reverse travel", inbound and outbound travel is also a new hot spot for "May Day" travel.

Benefiting from the visa-free policy and abundant route options, inbound and outbound travel bookings increased year-on-year, with Fliggy's outbound travel bookings nearly doubling from a high base, and Ctrip's inbound travel bookings increasing by 105% year-on-year. Chengdu alone received 9,644 inbound tourists, a year-on-year increase of 329.6%.

For example, according to the latest statistics from well-known Korean travel agencies, the number of bookings for Chinese group tours in May soared by 608% year-on-year, and the popular destinations are mainly Zhangjiajie and Furong Town. To become South Korea's "Internet celebrity" travel destination, Zhangjiajie Port has achieved 24-hour visa review on arrival, convenient customs clearance within 30 minutes of entry, and "fruit stall owners can also communicate in Korean".

China's 12 countries with unilateral visa-free travel and Singapore and Thailand have achieved a year-on-year increase of about 2.5 times, while outbound travel from Middle Eastern countries such as Oman, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait has increased by more than 3 times year-on-year.

This holiday season, many Chinese tourists check in front of Singapore's landmark attractions. (Source: Times Weekly reporter Wang Chenting/photo)

Due to the recent decline in the yen exchange rate, Japan has become a popular destination for tourists. Qunar data shows that the top 5 popular destinations during the "May Day" period are Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Singapore, and the number of air ticket bookings to Japan has increased by more than 60% compared with 2019, ranking first among the top ten destinations.

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