Tourists from mainland China flock to the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui on Thursday. [ANDY CHONG/CHINA DAILY]
Destinations across the country increased the supply of cultural and tourism products and created new experiences to satisfy travelers’ wanderlust during the five-day May Day holiday.
In downtown Changsha, the capital of central China’s Hunan province, a trade fair focusing on folk customs has been buzzing with visitors since Wednesday, the start of the holiday period that ends on Sunday.
“We expect about 20,000 visitors per day during the May Day holiday,” said Peng Yating, the expo’s operations manager.
Covering an area of 3,000 square meters, the fair offers experiences such as making traditional sachets and ancient currency, wearing Han clothes, and tea-drinking rituals.
Peng added that China’s traditional intangible cultural heritage and Chinese chic elements are becoming increasingly popular among tourists.
The number of subway passengers in Changsha reached a record high of 3.92 million on May 1, according to local authorities.
In Chengdu, the capital of southwestern China’s Sichuan province, a reality show is being staged at the Wuhou Ci Museum that allows visitors to relive the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 AD).
Li Zhi, a staff member at the museum, said there are also several exhibits to give visitors a glimpse into the culture of the time.
The preparations aim to spice up the travel experience and allow visitors to immerse themselves in the beauty of traditional culture, Lee added.
According to online travel agency Trip.com Group, museums, theme parks and mountain resorts are popular with May Day holidaymakers.
Bookings for museums on the first day of the holiday increased by 31% compared to the same period last year, with the National Museum of China, Qin Shihuang Mausoleum Museum and Palace Museum topping the popular list.
Bookings for mountain scenic spots have surged 50% year-on-year, with Shaanxi province’s Huashan and Henan province’s Laojun Mountain becoming the most popular among travelers.
Big cities remain a big draw for travelers. More than 90% of Hong Kong’s hotel rooms are booked, while Hong Kong recorded 876,000 visitors in the first two days of the holiday, with 40% of visitors coming from mainland China alone, making it one of the main tourist attractions. Spot achieved consumption as expected.
Hong Kong Tourism Association executive director Timothy Chew Ting-pung said that even before the May Day holiday period began, the overall booking rate for hotels in Hong Kong had reached 80-90%.
He added that the city’s boutique hotels were operating at near capacity on Wednesday.
Hotels at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort are also popular with tourists. A spokesperson for the resort said 95% of the resort’s three hotels are booked for the holiday period.
The spokesperson added, “We are seeing a trend of strong park attendance towards the weekend and the last two days of the holiday.”
Hong Kong Ocean Park has unveiled a series of new products to accommodate the rapidly increasing number of visitors. Ocean Park CEO Ivan Wong Chi-fai said the attendance numbers recorded at both the theme park and water park were “in line with our expectations.”
Miramar Group chief business officer Alan Chan Chun-yi said a significant number of walk-in guests pushed the hotel’s occupancy rate to 93 percent on Wednesday.
According to Trip.com, Hong Kong was ranked as one of the top three most popular international travel destinations during the holiday period.
According to the travel platform’s data, the number of bookings for trips to Hong Kong increased by 51% compared to the same period in 2023, with Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, Hong Kong Palace Museum and the Giant Ferris Wheel becoming the most popular attractions. .
According to Trip.com data, the growth rate of tourism spending in most tier 3 and 4 cities and county-level destinations in the country is faster than that of tier 1 and 2 cities.
Travel agencies said bookings for hotels and scenic spots in third-tier cities, fourth-tier cities and prefecture-level destinations increased by 60% and 200%, respectively.
Wang Yalei, an analyst at Trip.com’s research center, said first- and second-tier cities have always been popular tourist destinations.
Many scenic spots across the country have taken measures such as limiting the number of visitors, extending business hours, and selling night tickets in order to accommodate the large influx of tourists.
Mr. Wang pointed out that crowding is very common during holidays and reached its peak during last year’s May Day holiday.
“In contrast, this May Day holiday period has seen increased demand from the public to pursue niche experiences instead of visiting crowded tourist attractions,” he said.
He added that the flourishing of the prefecture-level tourism market means the expansion of the tourist population and the diversification of tourism destinations, further solidifying the foundation of China’s tourism market.
