Up to 200 Million Tourists Expected to Travel During May Day Holiday in China

According to data from Ctrip, May Day holiday bookings have seen significant increases across many business areas in comparison with the same period in 2019.

The company has forecast that during the upcoming May Day holiday in mainland China, up to 200 million tourists will be on the move over the 5-day break from 1 to 5 May.

According to the forecast data, the current volume of hotel bookings has achieved a 43% increase compared to the same period in 2019, with high-end hotel bookings accounting for more than 50% of total bookings.

Air ticket bookings have also once again seen an increase compared to the same May Day holiday period in 2019, growing by 23%.

With the increased demand, the average price of an economy class air ticket has risen to RMB 1,021, exceeding the average price of economy air tickets from the same period in 2019.

The forecast data shows that as of 14 April, the number of people nationwide making bookings for attractions through Trip.com Group’s Ctrip platform increased by 114% compared to 2019. This number is expected to boom in the weeks approaching the May Day holiday due to the short booking cycle for attractions.

In mainland China, advance attraction ticket booking is a new phenomenon and feature introduced and spread by the industry to better predict and prepare attraction sites for visitors and to facilitate improved management of visitor numbers following the pandemic.

This May Day holiday will see greater enthusiasm for long-distance travel across provinces in mainland China. The data shows that over 70% of tourists are choosing inter-provincial travel, a trend that builds on the short-haul travel boom that occurred in mainland China following the removal of domestic travel restrictions.

The current level of car rental bookings for May Day holiday travel have reached growth of 126% compared to the same period in 2019, with nearly 90% of car rental bookings made for inter-provincial travel.

Trip.com Group booking and search volumes from mainland China reveal the extent of pent up travel demand that exists in domestic markets.

The most recent Qingming Festival holiday on 4 April saw Chinese domestic travel bookings on Trip.com Group platform, Ctrip, increase by 300% compared to 2019. Trip.com Group data on Chinese mainland demand for outbound travel to Macao for the upcoming May Day holiday saw bookings rise by 20% compared to the same period in 2019.

The strong domestic travel recovery in the mainland China market is further evidence that the global travel revival will have a staggered build up. As the vaccine rollout continues worldwide and global initiatives, such as the CommonPass platform Trip.com Group supports, become more popularised safe cross-border travel will become possible.

See also: What is the IATA Travel Pass, and what does it mean for travellers, airlines and the global travel industry? Exclusive interview with Vinoop Goel.

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