BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- A tourism surge is expected in Beijing during the upcoming May Day holiday as the city has lowered its emergency response to the COVID-19 epidemic, data from online travel services showed.

The bookings for round-trip air tickets from and to Beijing increased 400 percent over the same period last week, according to data from Mafengwo.com, a popular online travel website, as of 10 a.m. Thursday.

Search and reservations for Beijing local trips, car rentals, and scenic spots tickets in the May Day holiday have reached a peak since April, according to China's largest online travel agency Trip.com Group, formerly known as Ctrip.

Meituan Dianping, a leading e-commerce service provider, estimated that over 5 million people will have family trips in Beijing and its nearby areas during the holiday.

Tourist attractions in Beijing have encouraged visitors to reserve visiting slots in advance to control visitor flows.

People from low-risk regions of China are not required to stay quarantined for 14 days upon arriving in Beijing since the city lowered its emergency response to the COVID-19 epidemic from the top level to the second level Thursday.

This year's May Day holiday will last from May 1 to 5.