Summer holiday to give tourism a welcome boost
Consumer enthusiasm for high-end trips fueling sales in flights and hotels
China’s domestic tourism market is looking forward to a revival during the two-month summer holiday.
Starting from July 1, the summer holiday is expected to bring 750 million trips made by rail passengers, about 15 million more than the same period in 2019, according to China State Railway Group.
A recent report published by online travel agency Ly.com forecast that the number of domestic trips made by air passengers this summer will return to pre-pandemic levels of around 120 million.
While sporadic COVID-19 cases have been reported in some areas, the tourism market will see a stable rebound this summer. This is due to the efficient vaccination program and strict pandemic control measures, said Cheng Chaogong, head of the research center affiliated to Ly.com.
According to the industrial report, 64 percent of survey respondents made travel plans for this summer and 87.4 percent of them gave a preference to long-distance tours.
As consumer confidence continues to improve, more than half of respondents want to have a family trip during the summer holiday, the report said. Also, 37.2 percent have chosen to travel with multiple family members.
The survey result is a positive sign for the domestic tourism market’s recovery, since family travel was the main summer tourism model of previous years, the report said.
Rising airfares and hotel bookings also proved people’s growing enthusiasm for traveling during the summer holiday.
Figures from Qunar.com, an online travel agency, showed that the average price of air tickets booked on its platform over the summer was 915 yuan ($140), up about 6 percent from 2019.
By the end of June, hotel reservations for the summer holiday had increased by 30 percent compared with the same period of 2019.
Qunar.com said travelers today are more willing to pay for a summer vacation. More than 51 percent of accommodation booked on its platform were luxury hotels. The figure was 42.4 percent in 2019.
The report from Ly.com also said about 66.8 percent of its users had a summer travel budget of more than 3,000 yuan. Of them, nearly 12.9 percent allocated more than 10,000 yuan for the trip, indicating domestic travelers’ interest in highend tourism products when outbound travel is suspended.
Among the most popular destinations were Chengdu in Sichuan province, Kunming in Yunnan province, Harbin in Heilongjiang province, Shanghai and Beijing, according to Ly.com.
In addition, due to the effects of COVID-19, Yangtze River cruises have replaced foreign cruises as a new trend this summer.
Ly.com said the cruises used to be a favorite among the elderly, but they have gradually gained recognition from young people. More than half of consumers who booked a Yangtze River cruise this summer on its platform were under 31 years old.
Red tourism, which refers to the visits to historical sites with a modern revolutionary legacy, remained a popular choice for travelers as this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China.
Favored destinations include Yan’an in Shaanxi province, Zunyi in Guizhou province and Jiaxing in Zhejiang province.