May Day Holiday Approaches: "Small and Beautiful" Cities Shine, Tourism Market Warms Both Domestically and Internationally

As the May Day holiday draws near, a number of "small and beautiful" cities with high tourism cost-performance and strong experience have become popular rapidly. Avoiding crowded popular cities and visiting characteristic small towns has become a new choice for many tourists during this holiday, with their unique charm and affordable consumption becoming the key to attracting visitors.

Yang Huan, a tourist from Beijing, plans to travel to Luzhou, Sichuan Province, with her colleagues. "I want to experience Luzhou’s wine culture, soy sauce brewing and oil-paper umbrella making," she said. "I checked many travel guides online in advance and booked a four-star hotel for four nights, which cost my friend and me about 1,700 yuan in total."

Compared with traditional popular cities, scenic spots in small towns can effectively avoid peak passenger flow and provide a more relaxed and in-depth travel experience. In terms of price, small towns also have obvious advantages. During the May Day holiday, the average price of high-star hotels in small towns is more than 40% lower than that in first-tier cities, and five-star hotels in some areas can be booked for only 300 yuan per night. Currently, places such as Pingtan in Fujian, Yangshuo in Guangxi and Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan are seeing rising popularity.

Shi Ke, a researcher at the Big Data Research Institute of a tourism platform, introduced that the popularity of a number of small-town scenic spots is rising the fastest during the May Day holiday. For example, the search volume of Jingdezhen China Ceramic Museum has increased by 10 times, that of Tongnayuw Bay in Chongzuo by 7 times, and that of Luyuanping Scenic Area in Enshi by 5 times.

Data shows that the number of domestic tourists during this year’s May Day holiday is expected to increase by 168% year-on-year. In terms of passenger structure, parent-child families and silver-haired groups have become the main force of travel, accounting for 28% and 16% respectively, with the tourism consumption potential being continuously released. China Tourism News reports that the May Day holiday will see a concentrated release of travel demand, with "small and beautiful" cities and immersive experiences becoming new trends.

While domestic "small-town tourism" is heating up, the inbound and outbound tourism market is also showing a two-way warming trend. In a travel agency store in Chaoyang District, Beijing, consumers consulting and handling outbound business are in an endless stream. Traditional popular destinations such as Italy, Australia, Spain and Portugal remain favored, with sustained demand for medium and long-distance outbound tourism.

Li Mengran, Media Public Relations Manager of a tourism group, said, "For example, Europe, including the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal, has excellent outdoor resources, and the cultural scenery is also in the best period of the year." In addition, coupled with characteristic folk festivals such as the "Lily of the Valley Festival", France’s tourism attention continues to rise; Switzerland has also attracted a large number of tourists to experience the best outdoor season in the Alps.

Meanwhile, the inbound tourism market is also growing. Data shows that during the May Day holiday, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are among the most popular inbound tourism cities. The number of foreign tourists in Sanya and Jieyang increased by 110% year-on-year, that in Xi’an by more than 70%, and that in Taiyuan, Changzhou, Kunming and other cities by more than 30%.

To meet the travel demand during the holiday, China Railway Urumqi Bureau plans to add 302 temporary passenger trains from April 29 to May 6, covering major cities in Xinjiang. Railway departments predict that the passenger flow during the holiday will mainly be for tourism, family visits and student travel, with the "spring holiday" of primary and secondary schools in some areas overlapping with the May Day holiday, leading to strong travel demand.