Chinese tourists chose short-distance trips for New Year's holidays more often

Chinese travel agency Ctrip has shared data showing high demand for short-distance travel within urban areas during the New Year holidays. Popular routes include Beijing to Tianjin, Shanghai to Nanjing, Shenzhen to Guangzhou in Guangdong province, and Chongqing to Chengdu. The main purpose of these trips is to visit relatives.

Ctrip also emphasized that destinations such as Harbin, Shenyang, Urumqi, Hulunbuir in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and Zhangjiakou in North China are expected to see an increase in tourism due to visitors either visiting relatives or seeking the experience of ice and snow, Shanghaiist.com writes.

When it comes to hotel bookings, homestays and hotel rooms for the New Year are popular choices among tourists. Tujia, an online homestay platform, has recorded a nearly fourfold increase in bookings for the 2024 New Year holidays in popular cities compared to the previous year.

Travel portal Qunar also reported higher hotel room bookings in Harbin, Nanjing, Wuhan, Shanghai, and Beijing, especially in luxury hotels, for the period from December 31 to January 1. In addition, tickets to attractions such as Universal Beijing Resort, Disneyland in Shanghai and Hong Kong, Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, and Harbin Ice and Snow World sold out quickly in advance.

In addition, Tongcheng Travel data shows a 72% increase in the popularity of travel to inland islands compared to last year on its platform for the New Year holidays. The popularity of travelling to the islands of Southeast Asia has also tripled compared to the previous year.