Culture-rich circuits gain favor among travelers

Traditional themes are topping the wish lists of domestic travelers during holidays, particularly the Dragon Boat Festival break between June 8-10 this year.

During the holiday period, the travel market is expected to mainly witness short and medium-distance tours, with strong demand for short trips within the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Chengdu-Chongqing city cluster and Central China's city cluster, according to a new report.

People's interest in short-duration (two to four hours) small group and study tours to history museums during Dragon Boat Festival has increased by more than twofold year-on-year, said the 2024 Dragon Boat Festival Travel Trend Report by travel booking platform Tongcheng Travel that was released on May 27.

In terms of emerging features, "new Chinese style" — typically defined as seamlessly integrating traditional Chinese elements with contemporary styles — has become the leading travel trend among youngsters, the report found.

Young domestic travelers are more interested in various traditional cultural sites, performances, intangible cultural heritage experiences and festive activities, it said.

Domestic destinations are also launching festival-related activities to attract tourists, according to the report.

Popular "new Chinese style" travel activities include visiting history museums, watching dragon boat races, experiencing intangible cultural heritage, checking in at historical and cultural sites, and trying on hanfu costumes, the traditional attire of the Han ethnic group.

Xi'an, Shaanxi province; Hangzhou; Luoyang of Henan province, Suzhou of Jiangsu province, and Chengdu are the most popular cities for hanfu photo check-ins.

Additionally, traditional opera performances in Suzhou and Beijing, tea-picking cultural activities in Fujian province, and the textile dyeing culture in Hunan and Yunnan provinces are the most sought-after intangible cultural heritage experiences among tourists.

According to data from Tongcheng Travel, as of May 27, the anticipated top travel destinations for the Dragon Boat Festival holiday include Beijing, Chongqing; Nanjing, Jiangsu province, and Nanchang of Jiangxi province.

Among these, cities rich in historical and cultural appeal such as Beijing, Nanjing and Xi'an are particularly in favor.

The popular hit TV show "To the Wonder", adapted from "My Altay", a collection of prose by Li Juan, has driven travel interest toward Altay, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, by more than twofold year-on-year, making it a most sought-after tourist destination for the 2024 Dragon Boat Festival.

Relatively niche coastal destinations like Weihai, Shandong province; Beihai of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and Jinzhou of Liaoning province, have also garnered tourist attention.

Tickets for travel between core and nearby cities during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday are in high demand.

Tongcheng Travel platform data show that, following the start of train ticket bookings for the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, bookings from central cities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou to surrounding smaller cities, especially county-level ones, have increased more than twofold compared to the average levels seen previously.

Furthermore, high-speed train tickets between cities in the Yangtze River Delta region, among those in the Pearl River Delta region, and between Chengdu and Chongqing have sold out quickly on some routes.

In terms of accommodation, the overlap of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday with the national college entrance examination has resulted in reduced hotel availability in popular areas of major tourist destinations due to the combined demand for travel and student lodging.