"May 1st" tourist market heats up

Our reporter Li Dan

  In the past two days, those preparing for the "May Day" holiday are probably worrying about ticket grabbing.

At present, most train tickets on most routes during the "May 1st" holiday have been issued, that is, "second light", and the prices of most routes have also risen.

This indicates that this year's "May Day" holiday tourism market is booming.

  Judging from the business big data of various tourism companies, the “hottest May Day Golden Week in history” may already be on the way.

According to data released by Ctrip, the number of tourists during the "May 1st" holiday this year is expected to exceed the level of the "May 1st" holiday in 2019, reaching a new high of 200 million.

The passenger flow of civil aviation, railway and road passenger transportation during the holiday is estimated to reach about 250 million passengers.

Data released by Airbnb also shows that during the May Day holiday this year, the search volume for listings in new first-tier cities, second-tier cities, and holiday destinations has reached more than 10 times that of the same period last year, especially for medium and long distances over 480 kilometers. Travel has fully recovered to before the epidemic, and has increased by more than 10 times compared with the same period last year.

  The tourism market has ushered in an explosive period, but consumers' wallets must also be prepared, because the prices of hotels and air tickets during the "May 1st" holiday have already risen.

  The same journey travel statistics show that during the May 1st holiday, air tickets on popular domestic routes have increased, and hotel prices in popular tourist cities have also risen sharply. The average air ticket prices on some routes even exceeded the level of the same period in 2019, such as Sanya, Qinhuangdao, etc. Hotel prices in popular destinations have increased significantly compared with the same period in 2019.

  The price of Ctrip's travel statistics also rose.

At present, some of the economy classes of flights in many places have been sold out.

The number of air ticket orders has surpassed the level of the same period in 2019, an increase of 23%.

The average price of the "May Day" ticket in economy class was 1021 yuan, exceeding the average price of the same period in 2019.

Compared to 2019, hotel bookings have achieved a 43% increase.

Correspondingly, the average price of hotel orders has risen, catching up with the average price of the same period in 2019.

  According to data from the railway 12306 platform, as of 6 pm on April 17, a total of 3.15 million tickets were sold on May 1, more than three times the same period in 2019; in terms of civil aviation tickets, the prices of popular routes have generally risen, and the average ticket price has exceeded 800 yuan.

  Statistics show that the average fare increase of Guangzhou-Haikou, Haikou-Guangzhou, Changsha-Haikou, Beijing-Kunming and other routes is the highest. Among them, the average outbound and return average fares of the round-trip flights between Guangzhou and Haikou are respectively compared with the same period in 2019. With an increase of 159.5% and 141.3%, the average ticket price from Changsha to Haikou has increased by 75.6% compared with the same period in 2019.

As the holidays approach, the fares of these routes are still rising. For example, the average fare of the "May Day" from Guangzhou to Haikou has exceeded 1,400 yuan since mid-April, and the stock of discount tickets is rapidly declining.

  The increase in the prices of tourism products during the "May 1st" period is, on the one hand, the result of a surge in demand;

Judging from the hotel booking trend of Ctrip's travel platform, 4 and 5 diamond high-star hotel orders accounted for more than 50% during the "May Day" period, and more and more tourists are willing to purchase high-quality travel services at high-star hotels.

  Driven by strong demand, prices of "May 1" hotels in popular tourist destinations rose significantly. Among them, Qinhuangdao increased 222.2% year-on-year, Zhuhai increased 183.2% year-on-year, Qingdao increased 163.9% year-on-year, Shantou increased 147.1% year-on-year, and Yangzhou increased year-on-year 87.1%, Shanghai's 77.6% year-on-year increase, Guangzhou's 76.8% year-on-year growth, Xiamen's 67.2% year-on-year growth, Jiaxing's year-on-year growth rate of 49.5%, and Sanya's year-on-year growth rate of 37.3%. They are the ten tourist cities with the highest year-on-year increase in hotel prices.

  Among the ten tourist cities with the highest increase in hotel prices, the average hotel prices in the other nine cities, except Guangzhou, exceeded the level of the same period in 2019. Among them, the average hotel price in Sanya increased by 80.5% compared with the same period in 2019, with an average price per room. The night price was as high as 1,696 yuan, followed by Qinhuangdao, where the average hotel price increased by 78.3% compared with the same period in 2019, and the average price per night was 550 yuan.

  The tourism report released by Tongcheng Travel believes that the tourism boom during the "May 1st" holiday is highly correlated with the average price of local hotels, indicating that there has been a significant increase in long-term and overnight passenger flow in various regions during the long holiday.

For example, the Yangzhou World Horticultural Exposition has attracted tourists from all over the country, thereby boosting the passenger flow of other local tourist reception facilities and hotel reservations; the huge flow of tourists for island tours and tax-free shopping has increased the tourist flow of Sanya during holidays. Also pushed up the prices of local hotels.

  If you don't go to big cities or see scenic spots, some tourists prefer "small and beautiful".

Data from the same journey shows that in the case of outbound cruise ships completely shut down, the Yangtze River inland cruise ships are gradually taking over relevant needs.

For example, the price of the luxury Yangtze River cruise line departing from Shanghai to Chongqing on May 1 reached more than 5,200 yuan, which has exceeded the price level of short- and medium-distance outbound luxury cruise ships before the epidemic.

In addition, looking for a comfortable homestay in the countryside, and a short escape from the city to enjoy the yearning pastoral life, has become the first choice for more and more travelers.

Data from the Airbnb platform shows that, compared with 2020, the search data for "farmhouse" and "village houses" has increased by more than 9 times; the search volume for "inns" has reached more than 17 times of the same period in 2020.

  In addition, a traveler survey conducted by Airbnb also shows that people's travel in 2021 is mainly to establish a deeper emotional connection with family, love, and friends.

During the "May Day" period of this year, the search volume of the tags "you can cook" was 2.9 times that of the same period in 2020, and the tags of "free parking" and "pets allowed" increased 4 times compared with the same period last year.

  Our reporter Li Dan