China's outbound tourism to boom during May Day holiday: report

BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) -- China will see a boom in outbound tourism during the coming May Day holiday, reflecting the vigorous tourism demand among the Chinese people after the country adjusted its COVID-19 response, said a report cited by China Daily on Tuesday.

China's tourism industry will continue to surge as people show a strong desire to travel during the holiday, which will start on April 29 and end on May 3 this year, the newspaper said.

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 capacities thanks to optimized COVID-19 management policies, according to the newspaper.

"Suppressed traveling desire will be unleashed at the May Day break, with both domestic and overseas destinations benefiting from the huge travel and consumption demand," Fang Zexi, an analyst from the country's major online travel agency Trip.com Group, was quoted as saying.

According to the group, the number of bookings for May Day holiday trips as of Thursday had overtaken that recorded in 2019. The number is up sevenfold compared with the same period last year.

As of Thursday, overseas bookings on Trip.com had increased by 18-fold from a year ago, the newspaper added.