China’s five-day May Day holiday is seeing a return to normal demand for tourism-related activities. The tourism industry will continue to surge as people show a strong desire to travel during the holiday. The holiday will start on 29th April and end on 3th May. It suggests China’s travel market is set to boom in May Day Holiday.
China’s Travel Market- Outbound Travel Demand Boom after the Country Reopen
Fast Facts
- The resumption of international flights has been great news for May Day outbound travel.
- Ctrip data shows overall booking for overseas travel products has increased by more than 18 times year-on-year.
- The search for overseas air tickets for the holiday rose by nine times year-on-year, with the average price of outbound one-way air tickets at 2,564 yuan, down 58% from last year.
- Overseas island tours have become the most popular destination for young people, with popularity increasing by over 80% from April 3 to 9.
- The search for outbound travel products on the Tongcheng Travel website rose by 42% compared to the previous week. With Singapore, Maldives, and Thailand seeing a seven-fold increase in bookings for the May Day holiday.
While some Chinese travelers from the first batch of outbound group tours returned home with fond memories after departing on February 6. And now domestic travel institutions are busy preparing for the five-day May Day holidays. The report by Tuniu, a Chinese travel portal, said that destinations including Thailand, New Zealand and the Maldives remain popular choices for Chinese travelers. Adding that some destinations in Africa and Europe, such as Egypt and France, may see increased visits with improved airline capacity. As of February 2, Thailand had welcomed nearly 100,000 Chinese tourists. With the resumption of Chinese flights to Thailand, Airports of Thailand expects about 7 to 10 million Chinese tourists to land at Bangkok’s airports in 2023. Amid rising enthusiasm, many people are already planning international trips for the upcoming May Day holidays.
May Day Holiday Bookings Reach Early Peak for 2023
Domestic bookings for the five-day May Day holiday on Meituan increased 200 percent compared to 2019 as of April 10, the highest in five years. Among these, accommodation bookings were at the same level as April 25, 2019. It is two weeks earlier than in 2019. It means China’s tourism industry will see a thriving May Day holiday in comparison to recent years. And hotels already sold out in advance and outbound group trips fully booked. Chinese travel service and social networking platform Mafengwo showed that, in the past week, the popularity of ‘May Day holiday travel’ on its website has increased by over 150 percent compared to a week earlier, with continuous upward trending. Forecast data from the online travel agency Tongcheng Travel released on April 11 shows that the demand for domestic long-distance trips and outbound trips is expected to surge during this year’s May Day holiday.
The ‘Hottest’ May Day Holiday is Coming
China is expected to see the ‘hottest’ May Day holidays over recent five years, as bookings for domestic travel have surged over 7-fold year-on-year by early April, recovering to the same level as pre-COVID-19 in 2019. The significant growth in the country’s tourism sector during the May Day holidays will drive up comprehensive recovery of China’s catering, hospitality, aviation and logistics sectors, contributing to the country’s overall economic recovery and providing an important impetus for the growth of world economy.
Deep Digital China will keep an eye on China travel market in 2023 and report more details.