Remote work boosts off-peak domestic travel

When strong cold air hits northern China, domestic cities in southern China see their booking volumes of travel products jump significantly. Besides major destinations, some smaller places such as Tengchong, Jinghong, Mangshi and Mile of Yunnan, have become new favorites of the elderly, Trip.com found.

For example, travel product bookings to Mile this winter have surged 160 percent over last winter. Hotel prices in Mile are about 40 percent lower than those of Dali and 60 percent lower than those in Sanya, according to Trip.com.

For top sources of travelers, residents who prefer to escape the cold include those who come from Beijing; Shenyang, Liaoning province; Xi'an, Shaanxi province; and Qingdao, Shandong province, the online travel agency found.

Besides hotels, more travelers have been choosing long-term rentals, apartments and homestays.

This winter, the supply of hotel rooms has significantly increased, and the average price has declined. For bookings between November and January, the average monthly rent of a long-term stay is less than 2,700 yuan ($377), according to Qunar.

"In the first three quarters, the occupancy rates of some hotels were not ideal, and some serviced apartments and homestays began to target long-term rental business, launching more affordable room types, while providing services such as group meals, meal delivery, laundry and transportation for long-term rental travelers," Cai said.

She added that compared with ordinary residential places, serviced apartments and homestays are often equipped with better decorations, more complete services and similar prices, making them highly competitive.

Tongcheng Travel, a Jiangsu-based online travel agency, also found that after the National Day holiday break, off-peak travel started to gain momentum. Apart from the silver-haired generation, young people, especially freelancers, dominate the main group of those who take trips.

The travel agency started to get prepared for this year's winter travel products in October to optimize the configuration of flight tickets and hotels, besides launching cost-effective products. The company recently launched more than 100 routes designed for those seeking warmer weather this year, and many routes have targeted niche destinations.

Guangxi and Guizhou province have seen rapidly growing popularity in this year's southward migration travel. In addition to well-known cities such as Guilin and Yangshuo in Guangxi, niche destinations like Chongzuo, Nanning, and Beihai in the region have become more sought-after, Tongcheng Travel found.

While residents living in the north would like to go to warmer places, those who live in the south are interested in visiting the northern part of the country.

A large number of consumers who live in Guangdong province have started to prepare cold weather clothing for their trips to Northeast China so they can enjoy some ice and snow experiences.

"While consumers from the north prefer to go south for warmer weather, southern residents prefer to go to the north for 'freezing'," said Xu Hongfei, domestic vacationing product manager of Tongcheng Travel.

"Keywords such as hot springs and warm weather have both grabbed the attention of consumers in recent days, and the search volumes of travel products in Northeast China, Beijing, Shanghai, as well as Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces have been high."