BEIJING: China’s tourism market hits its first travel peak of the year during the three-day New Year holiday period starting Thursday, with a strong festive demand drawing both domestic and international travelers to destinations across the country.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said 142 million domestic trips were made during the holiday, generating about 84.8 billion yuan ($12.13 billion) in tourism revenue. This year’s three-day holiday lasted two days longer than last year, a likely contributor to travel demand.
Yan Lijie and three of her university dorm mates spent New Year’s Eve on Wednesday night at Beijing’s 798 Art District, an industrial heritage art zone, before staying in the city for a two-day tour through Friday.
“We are in our third year at a college in Tianjin, neighboring Beijing, and it’s our dorm’s tradition to spend New Year’s Eve in a nearby city over the past two years,” said Yan, 23. “There were so many activities, including art exhibitions, fairs and performances that night, and the rich festive atmosphere really touched us.”
Qi Chunguang, vice-president of travel portal Tuniu, said tourism consumption during the holiday showed increasing diversification, with the market offering a wider range of options such as theme park tours, winter tourism and temple visits for new year blessings.
“We’ve noticed that younger travelers show stronger preferences for concerts, music festivals, drone shows or fireworks displays to count down to the new year,” Qi said.
Data from travel platform Qunar supported that observation. Taking Kaifeng in central China’s Henan province as an example, Qunar said hotel bookings in the city tripled during the holiday, driven by its two Chinese-style theme parks — Wansuishan and Millennium City Park.
Qunar said that beyond first-tier cities such as Guangzhou in Guangdong province, Beijing and Shanghai, smaller counties and towns also attracted large numbers of travelers welcoming the New Year. “Hotels booked by our users span more than 1,000 counties nationwide this holiday, ranging from warmer Nan’ao in South China’s Guangdong province to northern counties such as Antu in Jilin province, known for snow scenery and winter resorts,” Qunar said. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
