China’s Labor Day holiday, from 29 April to 3rd May 2023, witnessed an unprecedented boom in domestic tourism this year, with popular hotels fully booked and tickets to famous scenic spots selling out.
On May 3rd, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism released travel data for the holiday period, showing that domestic tourists reached 274 million and the domestic tourism revenue hit 148.06 billion yuan (US$21.41 billion), both surpassing the same period in 2019.
Online travel platforms, including Ctrip, Tongcheng, Tuniu, and Fliggy, also reported record-breaking data for the Labor Day holiday.
Scenic spots saw a 9-fold increase in ticket sales compared to last year.
According to Ctrip’s “2023 Labor Day Travel Data Report,” the top five popular scenic spots were Shanghai Disneyland Resort, Humble Administrator’s Garden, Huangshan Scenic Area, Mount Emei, and Mount Hua.
Family tourists, particularly those with children, contributed significantly to the surge in visitors, with theme parks, zoos, and museums accounting for more than half of the top ten popular spots.
The preference of tourists diversified during this year’s Labor Day holiday, with a more robust demand for high-level cultural products. Museums such as the Palace Museum, the National Museum of China, Shaanxi History Museum, and others saw their ticket sales fully booked for several consecutive days. Immersive performances, river cruises, and intangible cultural heritage shows were also in high demand.
Cross-provincial travel accounted for more than 70% of hotel bookings, with the average distance traveled by tourists increasing by 25% compared to last year. This year’s holiday saw a trend towards longer trips, with group tours lasting five days or more making up 30% of bookings, up from 20% in 2019.
Besides traditional popular destinations like Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, smaller destinations like Zibo also witnessed a surge in popularity.
Driven by the phenomenal popularity of “Zibo Barbecue,” hotel bookings in Shandong Province increased nearly threefold compared to the same period in 2019, with Zibo’s hotel bookings increasing more than tenfold.
Experts predict that while the domestic tourism market will stabilize after the Labor Day holiday, the summer peak season will see another surge in student and family travel. However, as some tourists opt for outbound travel during the summer, the domestic tourism heat is expected to be less intense compared to this Labor Day holiday.
To maintain the positive momentum in tourism consumption, local authorities must continue to innovate their offerings, implement more precise branding and marketing strategies, and continuously upgrade their service levels to promote the role of tourism consumption in economic growth.
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