China's tourism sees new trends during National Day holiday

Many Chinese people visited tourist destinations that are a little bit off the beaten path, or spent their holiday leisurely at homestay hotels during the weeklong National Day holiday.

Tourists take boat tour during the week-long National Day holiday at Baofenghu scenic area in Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan Province, Oct. 2, 2022. (Photo by Wu Yongbing/Xinhua)

Instead of visiting some of the most popular tourism destinations, many Chinese people turned to small cities and stayed in the top hotels there at a price far lower than that of top hotels in big cities. 

According to Qunar.com, an online travel platform in China, reservations for hotels in cities that are off the beaten path went up 30 percent year-on-year, and room nights of high-end hotels in these cities increased 40 percent year-on-year.

Booking and reservations of four-star and five-star hotels in some unpopular destinations such as Linxia, in northwest China's Gansu Province, Shizuishan in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Qinghai Province, increased more than tenfold.

Data from Mafengwo, a Chinese travel service and social-networking platform, shows that the search volume for tours to lesser-known islands on the platform has increased by over 100 percent this year from a year earlier.

Similarly, homestay hotels have been all the rage among young Chinese, as many prefer to relax and spend their holiday leisurely instead of visiting famous tourist attractions in a hurry. During the holiday, many Beijing residents went on short-distance tours. Liu and his family checked in at a homestay hotel near the Badaling Great Wall in Yanqing District of Beijing on Oct. 3, and after a night of good sleep, they climbed the Great Wall the next day. 　

A report of Tujia, a short-term lodging rental platform, shows that Miyun, Huairou and Yanqing districts of Beijing are popular destinations for short trips. Homestay hotels in Huairou saw an increase in their reservation of 60 percent year-on-year.

"Today's people look for better experiences during their trips, rather than sightseeing," observed Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy. Dai added that many tourists now prefer spending their holidays in a more relaxing way, instead of visiting hot tourist sites, which are usually packed with visitors.