Upcoming National Day holiday to see stronger willingness to travel, soaring tourism consumption

Aerial photo shows tourists sightseeing at the Laolongtou scenic area in Qinhuangdao, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

The upcoming National Day holiday in China is expected to see a more vital willingness to travel, as indicated by the noticeable year-on-year increase in bookings for domestic, outbound, and inbound travel products. Industry insiders predict that the number of people traveling and spending during the holiday will hit new heights.

Long-distance journeys are the most booked for the holiday, with data from online travel agency Ctrip showing that long-haul journeys account for over 60 percent of the bookings. Appreciating the autumn scenery is a major theme for these trips. Tourists are more rational, opting for affordable products that provide high-quality experiences.

The price of domestic flight tickets has fallen by 20 percent compared with the same period last year, and hotel prices have also dropped. Thanks to the restoration of flight capacity, the average flight price for popular destinations such as Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, the U.K., Singapore, and the U.S. has dropped by more than 20 percent.

Bookings for independent travel, road trips, customized tours, private tours, and travel products such as flight tickets and hotels have increased significantly. High-speed trains are becoming increasingly crucial as a means of transportation.

Cultural tours are a popular option during the holiday, driving the development of cultural and tourism consumption. Bookings for Chinese-style nighttime tours are up 60 percent year on year. Bookings for products related to the Beijing Central Axis in Beijing, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in July this year, have increased 69 percent year on year.

Internet-famous destinations are seeing their popularity linger in the long term. The filming locations for the Chinese video game "Black Myth: Wukong" expect another influx of tourists during the holiday.

Foreign tourists pose for a picture at Qibao, an ancient town in Shanghai. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Data from Ctrip indicates that during the holiday, inbound tourism is expected to grow faster than outbound tourism, and the number of orders for inbound tourism will increase by 60 percent year-on-year. Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, the UK, Singapore, and the U.S. are popular outbound destinations for Chinese tourists and sources of inbound tourists to China.

According to online travel platform Qunar, bookings for outbound travel products involved nearly 1,600 cities in 144 countries during the holiday, 20 countries more than the same period last year. Cai Muzi, a research fellow from the big data research institute of Qunar, said most of the 20 countries are located in Africa, attributing this to increased flight frequency and closer exchanges in trade, commerce, and tourism between China and Africa.

Statistics from travel platform Fliggy indicate an over 150 percent increase in car rentals overseas over the past week, and bookings for cruise ships have increased by nearly 600 percent during the same period. According to travel platform LY.com, residents from third-tier cities and below account for over 40 percent of those ordering long-distance outbound travel products for the holiday.