Tourists observe and photograph the largest fish during a winter fishing event in Deqing county, Huzhou city, east China’s Zhejiang province, November 19. [XIE SHANGGUO/FOR CHINA DAILY]
Industry insiders estimate a relatively large flow of people traveling long distances around New Year’s Day and the Lunar New Year as interstate travel no longer requires a negative nucleic acid test result, according to the latest guidelines. doing.
On Wednesday, the central government released a set of new guidelines to further optimize COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control measures. According to Trip.com Group, China’s largest online travel agency, immediately after the announcement, the search volume for air tickets in the week before the 2023 Lunar New Year over the week starting on January 21 was 160% compared to the day before the announcement. surged.
Cheng Chaogong, senior researcher at Tongcheng Travel, an online travel agency based in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, said:
“China’s interstate tours will grow rapidly in the near future,” Cheng said.
Previously, many travelers were concerned about the potential risk of a resurgence of COVID-19 and tended to take day trips, local tours, or travel to nearby areas.
Following the optimization and adjustment of pandemic prevention policies, online travel agencies have resumed various types of interstate group travel products. Beijing-based online travel agency Qunar said it has launched more than 100,000 such options and continues to update its portfolio.
With the number of ski resorts increasing nationwide, hotels near ski resorts and hotels suitable for skiers welcome many travelers from all over the country. In late November, 90% of travelers who booked such hotels were non-local tourists, a slight increase over the same period last year. Travelers born in the 1980s and 1990s make up 90% of all travelers.
According to the China Tourism Academy, by 2025, China’s ice and snow tourism sector could achieve a total revenue of 1.1 trillion yuan ($158.3 billion) and witness a consumer base of over 500 million. Expected.
Meanwhile, Sanya in Hainan, Shanghai and Lijiang in Yunnan are among the most popular destinations with the highest search volumes. Tours to beaches, islands, theme parks, zoos and botanical gardens, lakes and mountains are becoming popular among tourists, according to Tuniu Corp, an online travel agency based in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.
Pandemic concerns have left some consumers unsure about taking part in inter-regional travel. November and December were also off-season for China’s traditional tourist market.
“Inter-provincial tours require longer periods of time and must be supported by vacations. Yunnan, Hainan, East China, South China and other areas with warm and favorable climates are popular destinations for tourists on New Year’s Day. It is a holiday break,” said Xu Xiaolei, Chief Brand Officer of China Youth Travel Service.
“Destinations that are child-friendly, have hot springs, or offer options for skiing or other special activities are likely to be more popular.”
