From the bustling streets of tech-hub Shenzhen to walks along Beijing’s Great Wall, these domestic tourists are taking full advantage of the break to spend time with family and explore. Local authorities expect travelers to spend RMB782.5 billion ($107 billion), boosting holiday tourism revenues by 138% from the same period last year. On the first day of the long holiday, domestic air tickets and hotels increased by double digitsd compared with the same period in 2019, and car rental bookings hit a record, data from Alibaba Group’s travel platform Fliggy revealed.
The 2019 Golden Week was China’s last major holiday before the pandemic, which led to years of intermittent lockdowns and travel bans that made movement difficult. But this year, Chinese holidaymakers are out in full force. The volume of admission tickets to tourist attractions on Sept. 29 surpassed that on the first day of this year’s Labor Day holiday, April 29. Bookings at hotels with a high number of stars for Golden Week soared by more than 60% from 2019, while homestay orders rose nearly 40%, according to the platform.
The number of train tickets booked via Fliggy on the first day of the holiday set a new record for 2023. Car rentals on the platform also more than quintupled at the vacation’s start compared with 2019. Demand has risen, but costs have not. Average prices for air tickets and hotel bookings between Sept. 23 and Sept. 29 dropped by 22% and 10% respectively compared to between Sept. 9 to Sept. 15.
