Chinastravelindustryshowssignsofholidayspirit

　　By LI Rujia
　　With the New Year＂s Day holiday, and after relaxing epidemic controls, China＂s tourism market sees a small travel surge.
　　According to the data from OTA trip.com, as of December 22, the top 10 most popular tourist cities in China were Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Chongqing, Xiamen and Sanya.
　　According to Qunar, flight bookings for New Year＂s Day have seen a gradual rise since December 19, with daily increases up 30 percent. Air and train ticket bookings for departures from Beijing led the way, with Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai seeing fast growth.
　　GUO Lechun, vice president of Qunar＂s Big Data Research Institute, said that bookings in Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Chongqing saw rapid growth after December 25.
　　China’s theme parks are regaining their popularity. On Qunar, bookings for the first two days of the New Year holiday are double compared to the first weekend in December. Tickets for Shanghai Disneyland are the most popular. Beijing Universal Studios and Zhuhai’s Chimelong Ocean Kingdom have also doubled their bookings.
　　The effect of theme parks is obvious. Bookings at hotels around the parks have increased from almost nothing to almost full. Likewise, around ski resorts and hot springs, most small boutique hotels are fully booked, but some large hotels are still available.
　　Keyword searches for ＂skiing＂ doubled and ＂Xiling Snow Mountain Ski Resort＂ quadrupled in the past week. The image of Guangdong as the first province of hot springs still stands, with searches for ＂Guangzhou hot springs＂ rising 433 percent.
　　Those who choose to travel on New Year’s Day are mainly millennials or younger. More than 80 percent of New Year＂s bookings came from those under 30 years old. In terms of hotel preference, high-star hotels are the most popular with more than 70 percent of bookings.
　　Most travelers are still focused on local attractions with 64 percent of bookings made within the same province. Eighty percent chose to travel for 3 days or less. Compared with 2022 New Year＂s Day, this year＂s holiday is significantly shortened. But the number opting for longer trips is growing. According to Ctrip, cross-province travel has steadily increased since the Mid-Autumn Festival.
　　Outbound tourism also saw its signs of life, with searches for international flights suddenly up 8.5 times compared with the previous week, with bookings doubled. Going to Macau for New Year＂s Eve is also a good choice. According to Qunar, the number of hotel searches in Macau more than doubled last week.
　　International hotel bookings are growing rapidly with Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the United States the most popular searches.