Visitors enjoy a lion dance performance in Haikou, Hainan Province, on Saturday. Both Chinese cities and foreign destinations saw large numbers of Chinese tourists during the five-day May Day holiday. Sun Shijie / To China daily
Chinese holidays have injected momentum into the world economy, with the recently concluded May Day holiday bringing a strong burst of tourism growth to domestic and foreign destinations, travel experts said.
They added that the holiday’s prosperity marks the general recovery of the country’s tourism industry.
The holiday brought good news from travel agencies, who said long-distance tourism products were the best sellers during the five-day holiday, which ended on Sunday. It is also hoped that the good performance of the holiday will promote healthier and more sustainable development of the industry.
More Chinese chose to spend their holidays in foreign destinations. Travel portal Qunar said countries and regions in and near Central Asia and Europe were good choices, with flight bookings to Saudi Arabia and Egypt recording triple growth year on year on the platform. Flight sales to some European destinations, including the United Kingdom, Hungary, Ireland, Spain and Croatia, doubled in Qunar during the holiday.
Recent currency declines in the Japanese yen have made the country a top choice for Chinese travelers sightseeing and shopping, according to Qunar. Traditionally popular foreign destinations such as Thailand and Singapore were also overwhelmed by Chinese travelers during the holiday.
“The popularity and prosperity of foreign destinations with shorter travel times have exceeded our expectations. I think the main reasons lie in the addition of international flights, friendlier visa policies for Chinese people, and longer vacation durations” , said Qi Chunguang. , vice president of the Tuniu travel portal.
National tourist spots have also witnessed a travel boom. Shanghai, Beijing and the tropical coastal city of Sanya in the southern island province of Hainan were the top three choices in Tuniu, while some inland provinces with cultural heritage or special cuisines also went viral, according to the platform.
During his vacation trip to Datong in north China’s Shanxi province, Wei Jiajia used a mamianquna traditional Chinese skirt, when visiting the Yungang Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a history of around 1,600 years.
Wei said she gained a better understanding of cultural relics by wearing the dress and felt like she was a messenger of traditional Chinese culture.
Xiao Peng, a researcher at Qunar, said that Chinese travelers demonstrated more balanced consumption preferences this holiday, leaving no destination “unexplored or new”, and tourist service chains have stabilized and registered a good recovery.
“Our figures show that the hospitality capacities of airlines, trains, hotels and rural homestays have seen a huge boost this holiday season. The prosperity of the May Day holiday marks a full recovery of the tourism market, which will also bring about a healthier and more sustainable development of the tourism industry,” he said.
