Mushroom-picking tours have surged in popularity this year, largely due to an increase in rainfall in regions where mushrooms prized for cooking are known to grow, such as Sichuan and neighboring Yunnan Province. These tours are reasonably priced and cater to the growing trend toward personalized tourism.
A staff member from a travel agency in Yunnan told the 21st Century Business Herald that the company’s mushroom-picking tours primarily begin in larger cities like the provincial capital Kunming and pass through areas with beautiful scenery and abundant wild mushrooms. Most of these excursions are day trips, costing 100 to 200 yuan ($14-28) per person.
Jin Zhun, Secretary General of the Tourism Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told China News Service that the domestic tourism market is becoming increasingly diversified and personalized. Tourists are seeking more than just sightseeing; they desire richer experiences such as cultural explorations, and comfortable travel amenities.
“Some tourists are no longer drawn to traditional hotspots; instead, they are deliberately avoiding crowded places and shifting their focus toward relatively niche destinations,” Jin noted.
This shift toward niche tourism, which caters to the specific needs and interests of smaller groups rather than mainstream demand, has been one of the defining trends of this summer’s travel season.
According to a report released by online travel agency Trip.com Group on June 27, the domestic tourism market was set to experience steady growth this summer, with hotel and flight searches increasing by over 20 percent year on year.
Data from various online travel platforms reveal that demand for various forms of tourism, including family trips, educational tours for students, and heat-escaping tours, surged compared to last year. Not only did large cities like Beijing and Shanghai experience an uptick in tourism, but counties also saw increased visitor numbers.
Trendy options
Family travel has always been a key driver of summer tourism, making up 48 percent of the market, according to the Trip.com report. Cheng Chaogong, chief researcher at the Tongcheng Research Institute, affiliated with online travel agency Tongcheng Travel, explained that renowned historical and cultural cities such as Beijing and Xi’an in Shaanxi Province remain popular summer destinations for families.
The Summer Tourism Trend Report released by Tongcheng Travel on July 8 highlighted an emerging trend: “traveling with textbooks.” Landmark attractions featured in primary and middle school textbooks have become highly sought after by young parents. In addition, museums housing significant national treasures have turned into hotspots for family trips. As of July 11, the most searched museums on the Tongcheng Travel platform included the Palace Museum, Shaanxi History Museum, Shanghai Museum, and Suzhou Museum.
Rural counties, with their stunning natural scenery, tranquil surroundings, and relaxed lifestyles, have also emerged as ideal retreats for many travelers. The Trip.com report indicated that bookings for tourist destinations in counties this summer had risen by 22 percent year on year, surpassing growth rates in first-tier cities.
Only a two-hour drive from Shanghai, Yixing, a county-level city in Jiangsu Province, appeals to visitors as they can immerse themselves in views of forests, look out over seas of bamboo, and wander through tea gardens. Tonglu, a county in Zhejiang Province, draws visitors with its forested areas and canyon rafting experiences.
Xunliao Bay in Huidong County, Guangdong Province, welcomed 700,000 visitors this summer. There, tourists can relish fresh seafood and partake in outdoor activities like rowing and swimming, as well as niche sports like paragliding.
Reports from online travel service provider Qunar revealed that the majority of tourists traveling to counties this summer originated from first and second-tier cities. Accessibility is a crucial factor in their choice of county destination. For instance, Libo County in Guizhou Province has become a trending travel spot after the opening of high-speed train service from Guiyang to Libo in August 2023. The county’s scenic Xiaoqikong area is just 11 km from the Libo Railway Station.
Cai Muzi, a researcher at the Qunar Big Data Research Institute, told People.com.cn that an increasing number of mid-to-high-end hotels are establishing a presence in counties. It is anticipated that counties with convenient transportation, especially those near popular scenic spots, will become vital growth points for the tourism and hotel market in the future.
Huge potential
Heat-escaping tours remained in high demand. This July was China’s hottest month on record, according to the China Meteorological Administration on August 1.
To escape the heat, Zhang Li, a resident of Beijing, embarked on a self-driving trip to Yichun in Heilongjiang Province this summer. Yichun boasts an average temperature of 22 degrees Celsius in summer, features a forest coverage rate of 83.8 percent and has over 700 rivers that wind through its hills and forests, making it a flourishing and cool tourism destination.
“I felt completely relaxed breathing in the fresh air and soaking in the fragrant scent of the pine trees. All the stress from work was gone,” Zhang told Oriental Outlook weekly.
During the sweltering summer, resorts in coastal cities, mountainous areas, and grasslands became popular tourist spots. Data from Tongcheng Travel, published on July 10, indicated a surge in tourism to coastal cities after July 1. Searches for northern coastal cities such as Qingdao in Shandong Province, Dalian in Liaoning Province, and Qinhuangdao in Hebei Province between July 1 and July 10 increased by over 50 percent from the same period in the previous month. Southern coastal cities like Zhoushan in Zhejiang and Sanya plus Haikou in Hainan Province also saw an influx of visitors. According to Tongcheng Travel, bookings for the Siguniang Mountain in Sichuan surged by 202 percent year on year from July 1 to 10, with reservations for the Emei Mountain in Sichuan and the Changbai Mountain in Jilin Province increasing 160 percent and 132 percent year on year, respectively.
“In light of global warming, coolness is becoming a scarce commodity in summer. The proportion of tourists seeking summer escapes is rising, accompanied by longer travel distances and increased per capita spending. Consequently, the cool tourism industry is experiencing explosive growth and has emerged as a new growth point within the broader tourism industry,” stated a report on cool tourism jointly released by the China Meteorological Service Association and Seashell Finance, a finance media outlet of The Beijing News, in August.
Educational tours have gained popularity this summer as well. Trip.com’s report indicated that orders for educational tourism products increased by 70 percent compared to last year.
“My husband and I have to work throughout the long summer vacation and can’t take our child on a trip. My child often ends up at home watching TV or playing video games,” a Chongqing resident surnamed Zhang told Chongqing Daily while browsing study tour options at a Trip.com brick-and-mortar store. “Study tours are a wonderful alternative for making the most out of the vacation. I hope my child can gain knowledge through these experiences.”
The demand for educational tours has risen rapidly in recent years. The Annual Development Report on China’s Cultural Tourism (2022-23), released by the China Tourism Academy in May, emphasized that educational tours have become a cornerstone of China’s tourism industry, with nature and ecology, technological innovation, national defense industries, and traditional Chinese culture being among the most popular themes.
Market consultancy iiMedia Research reported that the market size of China’s educational travel industry reached 90.9 billion yuan ($12.7 billion) in 2022 and grew to 146.9 billion yuan ($20.6 billion) in 2023, a year-on-year growth of 61.6 percent. By 2026, this figure is expected to reach 242.2 billion yuan ($34 billion).
With international flight services gradually resuming and the introduction of visa exemption policies for Chinese citizens, the outbound travel market showed strong recovery momentum this summer.
According to the Tongcheng Travel report, Asian cities like Bangkok, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, and Singapore have emerged as popular destinations for outbound travel. Countries with mutual visa exemption agreements with China, such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, have particularly attracted a significant influx of Chinese tourists. Although Asia remains the primary destination for outbound travelers, the latest report from Trip.com issued in late August revealed that travel orders to certain European and Latin American countries surged by over 80 percent this summer. Additionally, sporting events like the UEFA Euro 2024 soccer tournament held in Germany and the Paris Olympics in France drew many sports enthusiasts to Europe. Data from Tongcheng Travel indicated that in the week following the opening of the Paris Olympics on July 27 (Beijing Time), flight bookings from major Chinese cities to Paris skyrocketed by over 150 percent year on year. –The Daily Mail-Beijing Review news exchange item
