① During the Spring Festival holiday this year, the main tourist destinations were “going north to see snow” and “going south to escape the cold”; ② travel agencies basically recovered to the same period in 2019, and outbound European tours sold out early; Zhongxin Travel's Southeast Asian destinations received nearly 100% of visitors; ③ Jinjiang Hotel (China) and Huazhu booking volume (rate) doubled year-on-year, and Junting Hotel's ADR increased significantly year-on-year.
With the “extended version” of the Spring Festival holiday “arriving”, many tourists chose to embark on a trip. CFA reporters learned from many sources that many hotel companies have more than doubled the number of domestic reservations over the same period; travel agencies' long-term outbound travel products are sold out early, and the New Matai route is highly sought after.
Overall, during the Spring Festival holiday this year, the main destinations for tourists were “going north to see snow” and “going south to escape the cold.” It's worth mentioning that some niche cities also experienced peak bookings this year.
Domestic “North-South Exchange” outbound travel continued to resume during the Spring Festival
“Judging from the Spring Festival travel reservation situation for spring and autumn tours, domestic travel has basically recovered to the same period in 2019, and most tourists 'swapped north-south for the Spring Festival.” Zhou Weihong, deputy general manager of Chunqiu Travel, told the Financial Federation that Sanya and Changbaishan are the two most popular domestic travel destinations during the Spring Festival.
Furthermore, judging from feedback from many OTA platforms and travel agencies, snow and ice tourism is very popular. Up to now, the number of reservations for spring and autumn travel products for the 2024 snow season has exceeded the same period during the 2019 snow season. Harbin is also a popular travel destination during the Spring Festival this year.
The popularity of tourism in Hainan, a southern domestic tourist destination during the Spring Festival this year, is also expected to drive duty-free consumption on Hainan's outlying islands.
Liu Feng, product director of Air Travel Zongheng, told the Financial Federation that the turnover of outlying islands duty-free goods at the Air Travel Zongheng Duty Free Mall has gradually increased, about 7 times over the same period last year during the Spring Festival travel season. It is expected that the sales volume of outlying islands duty-free goods in the Duty Free Mall will reach a new high in recent years.
China Customs recently released news that according to Haikou Customs statistics, during the first week of the Spring Festival travel season (January 26 to February 1), Haikou Customs supervised a total of 960 million yuan of duty-free shopping on the outlying islands, 155,000 visitors, and 1.063 million items. Based on this, China Free Group stores in Hainan have launched a number of promotions to ignite the duty-free market on the outlying islands of Hainan.
In addition, according to Spring Airlines, the hit TV drama “Blossoming Flowers” at the end of 2023 has further boosted the enthusiasm of tourists from all over the country to visit Shanghai. Flights from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Osaka, and Chongqing to Shanghai are among the top ten most popular sellers for this year's Spring Festival travel season.
The Financial Services Association reporter also learned that the Shanghai Yuyuan Lantern Festival held by Yuyuan Co., Ltd. last year went viral with the “Mountain and Sea Qiyu Ji” IP. This year, the Lantern Festival will also “go overseas” to France, with the theme “Mountains and Seas Have Spirit.” Yuyuan Garden Co., Ltd. said that after the Yuyuan Lantern Festival in France was illuminated, it welcomed a large flow of visitors, reaching an average of 4,000 visitors per day for many consecutive days.
The domestic Yuyuan Lantern Festival also continued last year's “Shanhai Qiyu Ji” IP this year, attracting a large number of people. At the same time, many netizens “ridiculed” individual images at the lantern festival, such as “The Lady Is Beautiful” and “Blossoming Flowers” character Lu Meilin, which attracted visitors to stop and check in.
Outbound travel, on the other hand, has benefited from the resumption of international flights and the facilitation of visa procedures, showing an increasing trend. Wang Zhan, director of global infrastructure construction and project finance at Fitch Ratings, told the Finance Association that tourist destinations such as Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia are still the first choice for tourists. In addition, thanks to the optimization of visa policies and extended vacations, some long-distance trips in Europe have also increased significantly compared to previous years.
Zhou Weihong explained that spring and autumn tours to Western Portugal, the Balkans, Britain, Greece, the Hobby, Croatia and other European Spring Festival routes were sold out as early as early January 2024, while the teams that went to Australia and New Zealand took the lead before New Year's Eve. As Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia have successively introduced visa-free policies for Chinese tourists, tourists' travel intentions and reservations for Thailandi, Xinyi, Singapore-Malaysia, and Thai-Singapore-Malaysia products before the Spring Festival continued to rise as the holidays arrived. Up to now, the number of teams visiting Bangkok in the spring and autumn has recovered to more than 70% in the same period in 2019, and the number of Singapore-Malaysia connected product teams has recovered to the same period in 2019.
According to a report released by Zhongxin Travel, a leading outbound travel company, not only is there a “north-south exchange” for domestic travel, but outbound travel also shows a two-sided travel trend of “one cold, one heat”. Zhongxin Travel Nordic “Light Chaser” Ice and Snow Aurora series themed products sold out as early as a month and a half before the Spring Festival.
The relevant person in charge of Zhongxin Travel further told the Financial Federation reporter that recently, registration for Southeast Asian travel products for the Spring Festival has basically come to an end. The customer acceptance trend of all destinations in Southeast Asia is basically full, and the overall product acceptance rate is close to 100%. Singapore's consulting popularity topped the consulting list, followed by Thailand and Malaysia. At present, the Southeast Asian market has begun to enter the March product sales stage.
The number of domestic hotel reservations doubled year-on-year, and third-tier and fourth-tier cities “emerged”
The “north-south exchange” model for tourists to spend the Spring Festival has also boosted the number of hotel reservations in relevant regions. Judging from the Spring Festival reservation situation of many listed hotel companies, the increase in people's travel demand and consumer demand this year has also led to a marked increase in the overall domestic reservation volume of hotel companies compared to last year.
In addition, this year's Lunar New Year's Eve dinner package at a hotel is also in high demand. According to data provided by Spring and Autumn Travel, since pre-sale of products related to the New Year's Eve dinner began in October 2023, hotel packages have continued to be sold out. Up to now, the number of reservations related to the New Year's Eve dinner has exceeded 200% in the same period in 2019, and households with 10 people or less account for more than half.
In terms of listed hotel companies, the Financial Services Association reporter learned from Jinjiang Hotels (China) that as of February 1, the overall reservation rate for its hotels under the 2024 Spring Festival holiday was nearly four times that of the same period last year, with a significant increase. Due to the “one south, one north” trend, hotel reservation rates in the Northeast and Hainan regions are high. Among them, the comprehensive reservation rate in Harbin is close to 70%. According to previous Spring Festival spending rules, during the week of New Year's Eve, there will also be a rapid increase in the reservation rate in the Northeast region during the week, and hotel reservations will soon become saturated.
On the Huazhu Group side, the Finance Association reporter learned that as of January 29, the company's hotel reservation rate for the Spring Festival holiday this year was nearly three times the reservation rate during the Spring Festival holiday last year. Cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Quanzhou, Harbin, Xiamen, Luoyang, and Liuzhou all saw a sharp rise in reservation rates during the Spring Festival holiday. Among them, the hotel reservation rate in Beijing is nearly 5 times the reservation rate last year, the hotel reservation rate in Quanzhou is 5 times the reservation rate last year, the hotel reservation rate in Harbin is 5 times the reservation rate last year, and the hotel reservation rate in Shenzhen is nearly 4 times the reservation rate last year.
As of February 8, Junting Hotel Group's four brands, Junting Hotel, Pagoda Junting Design Hotel, and Junting Shangpin, had an overall occupancy rate of around 40% during the Spring Festival. The overall average daily rate (ADR) of sold rooms increased significantly compared to last year. Among them, the reservation situation for hotels in Sanya, Jiangsu, and Chengdu was relatively good, and the rooms were basically full.
It can also be seen from this that popular first- and second-tier travel destinations are as popular as ever, and many third-tier and fourth-tier cities also experienced peak hotel reservations during the Spring Festival holiday. Taking Huazhu Group data as an example, the hotel reservation rate in Beihai reached 75%, while the hotel reservation rate in Sanya and Wenchang both exceeded 60%, and the trend continued to rise.
On the Where to Go platform, as of January 30, the number of Spring Festival hotel reservations in “small airport” cities such as Luoyang, Foshan, Baoshan, Pu'er, Altay, Jingdezhen, Liuzhou, Taizhou, Shangrao, and Huangshan increased 4.5 times compared to 2023.
On the resort side, Xu Bingyi, executive director and co-president of Fosun Tourism Culture and CEO of Club Med China, told the Financial Federation that as of January 31, resort reservations for the Spring Festival continued to grow. During the Spring Festival, the number of domestic resort reservations has surpassed 37% in the same period in 2019, and the highest occupancy rate of Sunshine Village in China is the Lijiang Resort. Among the three domestic ice and snow resorts, the occupancy rate in Changbaishan currently exceeds 90%, and Yabuli and Beidahu Lake is over 85%. It is predicted that the occupancy rate will reach 100% full during the Spring Festival.
Overseas resorts also benefit from the outbound travel model that has not escaped the “north-south exchange” for tourists. Club Med Mediterranean Club Hokkaido Kiroro Grand Resort, which was newly opened in December last year, is very popular with consumers. Currently, the occupancy rate has reached 93%; the most popular resorts on tropical islands in Southeast Asia are Kani Island and Keratin Bay, respectively.
Editor/Corrine