May Day Holiday Nears: China’s Domestic Tourism Market Braces for Peak with Extended Vacations and Immersive Experiences

As late spring transitions to early summer, it is the perfect time for travel. Reporters learned from multiple online travel platforms that as the May Day holiday approaches, China’s domestic tourism market is expected to usher in a peak, with distinct characteristics: the combination of May Day and spring vacation extending travel cycles into “extended holidays”, booming destinations from popular cities to county-level towns, and tourists shifting focus from “where to go” to “what to play”, making immersive and relaxing experiences the mainstream.

This year, primary and secondary schools in some cities and prefectures in Zhejiang, Shandong, Hunan, Hainan and Yunnan provinces will have spring vacation combined with the May Day holiday, greatly boosting travel enthusiasm. Qunar data shows that many cities are seeing a 17-day travel peak from April 24 to May 10, with bookings for domestic hotels, air tickets and scenic spots during the two weekends around May Day increasing by more than 20% year-on-year.

The extended holiday has expanded tourists’ travel radius. Cheng Chaogong, Chief Researcher at Tongcheng Research Institute, said that during the May Day holiday, the proportion of domestic long-haul air ticket bookings (over 800km and 1200km) has increased significantly, and the proportion of parent-child groups has risen by 13%. Fliggy data indicates that bookings for long-distance destinations such as Yunnan, Xinjiang and Tibet have grown remarkably.

The combined vacation has further stimulated parent-child and family travel. Tuniu data shows that in cities implementing the combined vacation, travel bookings from Lishui, Yongzhou, Zibo and Huzhou have increased by more than 300% year-on-year; those from Quzhou, Taizhou, Yantai and Rizhao have risen by over 200%; and bookings from Zhoushan and Yueyang have more than doubled. Shen Yanyu, Operations Manager of Fliggy Travel, said that visiting historical sites, checking in at theme parks and visiting museums are favorite activities for family tourists, with tickets for popular theme parks and celebrities’ former residences increasing by about 50% year-on-year.

Domestic tourism destinations are thriving across the board. Traditional hot spots like Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Hangzhou and Nanjing remain popular, while hotels in long-distance destinations such as Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Tibet, Yunnan and Xinjiang are seeing rapid booking growth. County-level tourism is also gaining traction, with Tongcheng Travel data showing that bookings for county-level travel products have increased by 128% year-on-year, with Pingtan in Fujian, Anji in Zhejiang and Yangshuo in Guangxi among the most popular.

Immersive experiences driven by events are becoming a key travel motivation. “Travel + sports events” and “travel + performances” are flourishing. Qunar data shows that the Suzhou Super League, Hubei Super League and Jiangxi Super League covering the holiday have boosted Jiangsu’s hotel bookings by 10% and Hubei’s scenic spot tickets by 42% year-on-year. Concerts and music festivals also drive consumption: Mayday’s concert has increased hotel bookings around Beijing’s Bird’s Nest by 91%, and Tulujia data shows that the Super Galaxy Left Bank Music Festival has boosted Luzhou’s homestay bookings by 800%.

Mafengwo data reveals that the popularity of exhibition tours such as the Beijing International Auto Show and Canton Fair has increased by 169%, while new experiences like Kunming’s jacaranda viewing, Guangzhou Tower outdoor adventures and Xiamen’s sea trains have seen search volume surge by over 100%, reflecting tourists’ growing demand for emotional value and relaxation.