The tourism industry on May 1st holiday began to show obvious signs of warming up, mainly on family visits, peripheral tours, and suburban tours, and tourism confidence has steadily recovered. Passenger traffic in domestic scenic spots has dropped a lot compared with the same period of previous years, and the average price of air tickets and hotels has been much cheaper than that of the same period of previous years.

The tourism industry on May 1st holiday began to show obvious signs of warming up, mainly on family visits, peripheral tours, and suburban tours, and tourism confidence has steadily recovered. Passenger traffic in domestic scenic spots has dropped a lot compared with the same period of previous years, and the average price of air tickets and hotels has been much cheaper than that of the same period of previous years.

The longest May Day holiday since 2012 ended.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, on May 1-5, the country received a total of 115 million domestic tourists and realized domestic tourism revenue of 47.56 billion yuan, which is about 40% more than the May 1 holiday in 2019.

Nationwide, provinces and cities that have announced May 1st holiday tourism income, except for Hubei Province, which only recovered 20%, most other provinces recovered about 40% to 70%.

Affected by the epidemic, the tourism industry experienced a long winter, and the tourism industry began to show obvious signs of recovery on the May 1 holiday. Small and long vacations, mainly family visits, peripheral tours, and suburban tours, have driven destination consumption, and tourism confidence has steadily recovered.

In addition, this year's May Day holiday, the domestic scenic spot passenger traffic has dropped a lot compared with the same period in previous years.

Signs of recovery in the tourism market are obvious

Compared with earlier this year, the signs of a recovery in the May 1st holiday tourism market are more obvious.

During the May Day of 2019, the national tourism revenue has exceeded the 100 billion yuan mark, the total number of domestic tourism receptions is 195 million, and the four-day holiday income is 117.67 billion yuan, an increase of 16.1% year-on-year. On May 1, 2020, the five-day holiday income is about 40.4% in 2019, and the total number of passengers received is about 59% in 2019.

Although the overall data of the May 1st travel market this year is almost lower than that of 2019, the data has improved significantly compared to previous months.

Near the May Day holiday, Beijing announced that the emergency response level of epidemic prevention and control has been reduced from first level to second level. This news has driven many people's travel confidence. Lan Xiang, vice president of Qunar.com, said that April 30 was the day with the highest May 1st trip volume, and domestic civil aviation passenger traffic had already returned to half of 2019 levels.

Another sign that the tourism market is picking up is that the official website of Shanghai Disney Resort announced on May 6 that the park will be reopened to the public from May 11.

According to data from Qunar.com, the number of tourists staying in hotels during the May Day period has increased by 2.1 times compared with the Qingming holiday. Chengdu, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen have become the most popular leisure holiday destinations, while Beijing, which had previously ranked the top, ranked tenth. Bit.

A Shanghai white-collar worker who opened a bed and breakfast in Ningbo told the 21st Century Business Herald that his bed and breakfast ushered in the first guest since 2020, and several rooms in the May 1st Holiday B & B were full.

It is worth noting that in Hubei Province, which was severely affected by the epidemic, tourism recovery is also the slowest in the country. From May 1st to 4th, 22 key scenic spots in Hubei Province received 666,000 tourists, and achieved a comprehensive tourism income of 29.184 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 81.41% and 76.3% respectively. It will take time for the market to recover.

Tourism markets in Yunnan, Sichuan and other major tourist provinces are recovering slightly better. On May 1st holiday, Yunnan Province received a total of 9.962 million tourists, returning to 66.8% of the same period last year, and realizing tourism revenue of 7.858 billion yuan. The A-level tourist attractions that have been opened on May 1st in Sichuan Province received a total of 6.89696 million tourists, realizing ticket income of 85.564 million yuan, respectively reaching 50.02% and 45.89% during the May Day period last year.

In addition, the number of tourists received in Hunan Province recovered to 67.9% of the same period last year, and tourism income returned to 68.4% of the same period last year.

Quiet and cheap May Day tour

In terms of scenic spots, the ticket service of Qunar.com scenic spots during May Day has been restored to 40% of last year. The reservation system eliminates the crowded scenes of previous years, and tourists enjoy playing in a more relaxed and comfortable environment.

Data from the Qunar website shows that ecological resort-type scenic spots, mountain-type scenic spots and safari parks have become a good place for tourists to relax and parents to "walk the baby", Chengdu Giant Panda Base and Qingcheng Mountain, Hangzhou Xixi Wetland, Guangzhou Chimelong Safari Park, Shanghai Scenic spots such as Safari Park and Chongqing Hongya Cave are the most popular.

The “May Day” tourism market recovery big data report released by Ctrip Travel Group shows that the scenic spot has greatly improved the comfort under the reservation system, and the number of ticket reservations has returned to about 50% of the same period last year.

Teng Min, a tourist who traveled from Beijing to Pingyao County, Shanxi, on May 1 told the 21st Century Business Herald that there were few people in the scenic area of the ancient city of Pingyao on May 1st. There were more tourists on May 2, but there were not many guests in the restaurant The scenic spots did not appear to be full of people and sea in previous holidays. The ancient city scenic area also requires current limit, and reservations are required in advance, and visitors can only reach up to 30% of the carrying capacity. On the morning of May 4, he spent one morning at Shuanglin Temple in Pingyao County. He only saw a few tourists sporadically. It was very quiet. It was a rare and quiet travel experience.

Ms. Yang who stayed in Beijing for May 1st went to Beijing Zoo and Yuyuantan during the holidays. Both places need to make an appointment in advance. Yuyuantan has much fewer people than usual weekends. The zoo has a higher density of tourists than Yuyuantan, but neither It's a lot.

Ms. Wang in Beijing bought a ticket for returning to Beijing from Guangzhou on May 4 in late April. The fare only costs 240 yuan. A number of domestic travellers interviewed by 21st Century Business Herald reporters said that this year's May Day travel tickets and hotel prices are much more affordable than previous holidays. Especially for passengers who booked from Beijing to Guangzhou, Sanya and other places before April 30, the price of the ticket they bought can be described as "cabbage price".

Among the residents in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities interviewed by reporters, the ones who travel most during the holidays are those who choose to go home to visit relatives, or travel around the city or parks in the city. Respondents unanimously reported that the cost of traveling this holiday was much cheaper than in the past.

As the bulk of travel costs, the average price paid for air tickets and hotels showed a significant downward trend year-on-year in 2019. Data from Qunar.com shows that the average ticket price is only 70% in 2019, and the average hotel price is only 75% in 2019.

As of May 5, the Guangzhou-Chengdu route was the most popular route for the May Day holiday. Although the average ticket price paid was 19% higher than the Qingming holiday this year and the bare ticket price was 482 yuan, it did not affect the enthusiasm of tourists. The popularity of Shenzhen-Chengdu and Shanghai-Chengdu routes ranks second and third respectively. Compared with the Qingming holiday, the average price increase of the two routes is more than 40%.

Hotel accommodation costs are also much cheaper than in previous years. Teng Min told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that he lived in Pingyao for four days. The price for the single room was 158 yuan per night for the first two days, and the price dropped to 128 yuan for the next two days. According to the innkeeper, the house prices here in the previous May Day holiday were basically six or seven hundred yuan per night per room, and they were also very popular.

On the Qunar website platform, the average hotel price during May Day this year was only 75% of last year. Since the cross-provincial group tour has not yet been restored, people travel mainly in the suburbs and surroundings. The decision-making period does not need to be too long, and resort hotels are more popular.

The 21st Century Business Herald reporter saw from the wine travel booking platform that hotel prices in Wuhan, Beijing and other places during the May Day Holidays are much cheaper than in previous years. Many five-star hotels in Wuhan only cost more than 400 yuan a day.