China News Service, February 14 (China News Business Reporter Zuo Yukun) As the eight-day Spring Festival holiday, known as the "longest golden week in history" by netizens, is underway, tourism peaks in various places are also arriving as scheduled.
Officials predict that the cross-regional flow of people across society during this year's Spring Festival will hit a record high, with about 9 billion people traveling, visiting relatives, and leisure in the next 40 days.
With the lively cultural and tourism competition across the country, the ever-expanding visa-free “circle of friends” and longer vacations, in addition to spending more time with your family, what other plans do you have for this Spring Festival?
Data map: Tourists visit Harbin Ice and Snow World. Photo by China News Service reporter Tomita
People from the north and the south visit each other, and the domestic market continues to be hot
"My friends who traveled to Harbin all had a great time. I had plenty of time during the Spring Festival holiday this year, so I went straight to Harbin as soon as I got off." Ms. Zhao, a resident of Hangzhou, told reporters.
"It's really cold in Harbin. I have never seen such big ice and such thick snow. Even though I bought what I think is the thickest jacket and thermal underwear in Hangzhou, I almost caught a cold when I arrived in Harbin. My hands were very cold outside. It’s almost freezing.” But apart from the temperature, the people in Harbin impressed Ms. Zhao even more.
She said that the people in Harbin are very welcoming, and the most common thing she heard after staying for three days was "Don't order, you can't finish these by yourself." The prices in the small restaurant are shockingly cheap, and the taste is that kind of salty Northeastern cuisine with very few green leafy vegetables. It is very different from the South, but it is also delicious.
The warm Harbin attracts many tourists like Ms. Zhao. According to the "2024 Spring Festival Travel Trend Report" released by Tongcheng Travel, during this year's Spring Festival, the top ten popular destinations on domestic routes are: Harbin, Chongqing, Chengdu, Kunming, Beijing, Sanya, Guiyang, Shanghai, Xi'an, and Guangzhou. Among them, Harbin’s popularity rose from fourth place in the same period in 2023 to first place.
As a "dark horse of cultural tourism" that successfully broke out of the industry last year, Zibo, where the number of tourists reached its peak during the May Day holiday last year, also welcomed a group of tourists who traveled during the off-peak period. In Zibo, Mr. Ren’s barbecue restaurant will not be closed during the Spring Festival this year. He told reporters that 60-70% of the customers in the store are still outsiders. "We open at noon and usually stay open until around 11 p.m. We won't close as long as there are still customers."
Even after experiencing a boom out of the industry, Mr. Ren still maintains the price of pork at 1 yuan per skewer and mutton and beef at 2 yuan per skewer. "We have no regrets because of the change in popularity. Tourists have brought more possibilities to Zibo, and urban construction has been greatly optimized in a short period of time. Zibo is better now than before. We are very grateful and must Don’t forget your original intention.”
An Wei, the owner of another barbecue restaurant, chose to take a break from New Year's Eve as usual and resume business on the eighth day of the first lunar month. "The meat supplier in the store is on holiday, and we also plan to take a rest. After going through an extraordinary year, I hope that I and my employees can spend time with their families."
In addition to "watching the snow in the north", "going south to avoid the cold" is also favored by consumers. Ctrip data shows that during the Spring Festival, Sanya, Kunming and other northern tourists' favorite cold escape cities saw travel booking orders increase by more than 2 times and 6 times respectively year-on-year.
"This time I really experienced the excitement of Hainan's tourist season. Not only were there so many people in the scenic spots that I needed to make reservations in advance, but the highways were also blocked." Ms. Jiang, who traveled to Sanya during the Spring Festival, said that her trip was very rich and she experienced both In the bustling crowds of popular scenic spots, I also experienced the leisure of finding a seaside restaurant to eat seafood, lying by the hotel pool and beach and enjoying the sea breeze.
Data map: A high-altitude view of Dongyu Island in Qionghai, Hainan. (Drone photo) Photo by China News Service reporter Luo Yunfei
With favorable policies, outbound tourism is flourishing in many aspects
Many Chinese tourists choose to take advantage of the holidays to go abroad, allowing popular foreign tourist destinations to join in the "Spring Festival Carnival".
You should start your "far trip" as early as possible. Airbnb data in November 2023 shows that the search popularity of Chinese users planning to travel abroad during the Spring Festival holiday has soared to more than 14 times year-on-year.
When Xiao Cao, who lives in Yunnan and works in Zhejiang, searched for air tickets in early January, he found that it cost more than 2,000 yuan to fly home directly, while it only cost more than 700 yuan to fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In addition, the return ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Kunming was 1,000 yuan, which was cheaper than a direct flight. There was also cash rebate for air tickets, and the hotel prices were also very friendly, so I decided to take a "circuit" trip home and take a trip.
From Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi, Xiao Cao stayed in Malaysia for a total of four days and three nights. He spent a "summer" in the winter and did not miss the chance to reunite with his family for the New Year.
The continued release of favorable visa-free policies will undoubtedly add fuel to the fire for outbound travel this winter. Ctrip data shows that on the first day of the holiday, both outbound travel orders and inbound travel orders increased significantly compared with 2019. Ctrip's overseas airport pick-up and drop-off service orders increased by more than 8 times compared with the same period in 2019. The "Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand" visa-free policy and strong Spring Festival atmosphere have become a popular choice for Chinese people to travel abroad during the Spring Festival.
“My Spring Festival tour to 8 countries started on January 31st and ended on February 19th, a total of 20 days.” Travel enthusiast Fomalhaut told reporters that his first stop was also Malaysia, which has a visa-free policy. Let him feel great convenience. “We also see a lot of dragon elements in Malaysia, which gives it a Chinese New Year atmosphere.”
According to him, his itinerary was put together slowly. As early as August, he bought a flight ticket to Kuala Lumpur on January 31, which cost only 360 yuan. The most expensive part of the entire itinerary was from Nepal to Dubai, because it was The additional trip cost 1,203 yuan. “Personally, I think it’s better to prepare early. Four months in advance, you can basically choose a flight ticket with a suitable price.”
In his travel plan, in addition to popular tourist destinations in Southeast Asia like Malaysia, there are also destinations like the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. This happens to reflect the new trend of outbound travel since 2023: in addition to traditional Southeast Asian travel that continues to be popular, travel to the Middle East has also become popular.
Inside and outside the Great Wall, across the country, the booming Spring Festival tourism market is still heating up. This holiday, are you also "traveling around the world"? (over)