① In response to the claim that “stealing tickets on May Day is comparable to the Spring Festival travel season,” 12306 customer service said that it is impossible to predict exactly how many people will travel during the May 1st period, and it is uncertain whether additional trains will be launched later, so keep an eye on the future. ② Yu Wenjie, deputy general manager of China Youth Travel Service, said that due to the gradual recovery of the overall travel market, the cost of this year's May Day travel decreased by about 20% compared to the same period last year, and the customer acceptance rate was around 200% of the same period last year.
Financial Services Association, April 17 (Reporter Xu Cihao): Train tickets were officially sold yesterday (16th) the day before the May 1st holiday (April 30). Train ticket searches on that day were more popular than on the first day of the holiday (May 1). In addition to the “go on sale and wait” situation, many netizens also reported that the waiters were in a flash.
In response to the claim that “stealing tickets on May Day is comparable to the Spring Festival travel season,” 12306 customer service said that it is impossible to predict exactly how many people will travel during the May 1st period, and it is uncertain whether additional trains will be launched in the future. No relevant information has been received, so you can keep an eye on it later.
“12306, ticket” is also on today's Weibo Hot List.
The New Consumer Daily reporter learned from platforms such as Tongcheng Travel and Where to Go that the day before the “May 1st” holiday, tickets for popular routes such as Beijing-Luoyang, Beijing-Zibo, and Beijing-Changchun went on sale. Judging from the reservation situation, tickets for popular routes such as Beijing-Shanghai, Chengdu-Xi'an, Shanghai-Wuhan, Shenzhen-Changsha, and Beijing-Qingdao were no less difficult than the Spring Festival travel season.
Boosted by this news, the travel sector also performed well in the stock market. At the close of trading today, *ST Western Region, Three Gorges Travel, and China Youth Travel had the highest gains, surging 9.65%, 8.75%, and 6.44% respectively.
Fourth-tier cities and below are bringing in a number of new trains, and many trains have been sold out
According to data provided by Air Travel Vertical and Horizontal New Consumer Daily, as of April 16, the top 10 popular domestic destinations during the “May 1st” holiday period were Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Xi'an, Chongqing, Kunming, and Wuhan. The number of domestic airline ticket reservations exceeded 2.2 million, an increase of nearly 62% over a week ago; the average domestic ticket price (excluding tax) is over 1,000 yuan, which is already higher than the Qingming holiday level this year.
Zhao Nan, director of air travel industry development, told the New Consumer Daily reporter that ticket prices to popular destinations and popular time points may continue to rise due to strong demand.
However, with the improvement of infrastructure and the improvement of tourist reception capacity in various regions, more and more tourist destinations in the sinking market are being welcomed.
A reporter from New Consumer Daily learned from Ctrip that cities such as Tianshui, Xuzhou, Zibo, Hefei, Nanchang, Diqing, Jingdezhen, Shijiazhuang, Yantai, and Huangshan are currently the fastest growing cities for the May 1st holiday.
“The tourism market in Tier 4 cities and below, especially in counties (counties and county-level cities), has grown significantly, bringing in new volume.” According to the “2024 “May Day” Travel Trend Insight Report released by Ctrip on April 16, travel bookings for Tier 4 cities and below increased by 140% year-on-year during the May Day holiday, which also outperformed the national market, and the increase was significantly higher than that of Tier 1 and 2 cities.
According to Ctrip data, hotel reservation orders in the county market increased 68% year on year during the May 1st holiday, and ticket orders for scenic spots increased by 151% year on year. The growth rate was higher than the national market. Cities with regional airports such as Tumshuk, Baoshan, Huaihua, Chifeng, Hetian, and Heze have seen significant year-on-year increases in ticket bookings, mostly over 50%.
This is also reflected in the Tongcheng Travel platform. According to data from the Tongcheng Travel Platform, compared with core cities, the popularity of “May Day” holiday tickets and air tickets to third-tier cities has increased relatively much. Among them, the popularity of train tickets and air tickets arriving at third-tier cities (including county-level cities) on April 29 and 30 increased by more than 200% from week to week.
Where to go told the Xinconsumer Daily reporter that cities below the third tier with small airports have become “less expensive and less crowded” destinations. Compared to big cities, small city hotels are less expensive. You can stay in high-end and luxury hotels for around 400 yuan. The comprehensive expenses for food, transportation, and shopping are also about half lower than in big cities, and it is more cost-effective to travel to small cities during the holidays.
Where to go was selected based on dimensions such as average ticket payment prices, month-on-month off-season price changes, and price changes compared to 2023, such as Hailar and Baotou in Inner Mongolia, Yulin in Shaanxi, Enshi and Ganzhou in Hubei, Zunyi and Xingyi in Guizhou, Rizhao and Dongying in Shandong, and Wuhu in Anhui.
Furthermore, more and more young people are specifically visiting a city because they have grown certain cuisines, experiences, and things to do. Statistics on where to go revealed that specialty cuisines such as Tianshui spicy hot pot, Xilingol skewers, Baoding grilled donkey meat, and Liuzhou snail powder also attracted a large number of visitors to their cities. On April 30, tickets for many trains were sold out for the Lanzhou-Tianshui, Beijing-Baoding, and Guangzhou-Liuzhou routes.
Outbound travel costs have dropped by nearly 20% compared to last year
The May Day holiday is long, and outbound travel has also become a popular choice for travelers. According to data from Zhongxin Travel, up to now, the number of travelers has increased by about 370% compared to the same period last year.
Yu Wenjie, deputy general manager of Zhejiang China Youth Travel Citizens' Tourism Headquarters, told the New Consumer Daily reporter that due to the gradual recovery of the overall May Day travel market this year, the cost of air tickets has increased due to the increase in the number of flights and the increase in reception capacity. Compared with the same period last year, the cost has dropped by about 20% compared to the same period last year. The customer acceptance rate is about 200% of last year, an increase of nearly double.
According to Yu Wenjie, in terms of the destination of the trip, Southeast Asia, such as New Zealand, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand, were mostly visa-free this year; however, Europe was slightly less affected by factors such as visas.
According to Ctrip statistics, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, the United States, Indonesia, Australia, France, and Vietnam are popular countries to leave during the May 1st holiday. Orders from countries along the “Belt and Road” such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan grew at a high year-on-year rate. Up to now, international cruise ships departing from Shanghai and Xiamen during the May 1st holiday have basically been sold out, and GMV orders have reached more than 1.5 times that of the same period in 2019.
Where did the new consumer reporter learn that in popular traditional destinations such as Japan, France, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, travelers are no longer satisfied with a “tour group” to enjoy the flowers, but instead go deep into small towns to explore. Examples include Burgundy, France, which is rich in fine wine, the beautiful and ethereal Japanese Otaru in “Love Letter”, and Zermatt, Switzerland, where you can ski all year round. The traveller who traveled the furthest stayed in Recife, the hometown of former Brazilian soccer player Rivaldo.
In addition, data on where to go shows that it is not only a popular visa-free destination such as “New Matai,” but also on niche routes such as the 7-day Murmansk Tour in Russia, the 7-day Athen+Santorini+Zajin+Peloponnese Tour, and the 7-day Iberian Peninsula tour, but there are also reservations from travelers.
In terms of inbound travel, according to Ctrip data, inbound travel bookings increased 130% year-on-year during the May 1st holiday. The main countries of entry include Japan, the United States, South Korea, Canada, Malaysia, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Australia, Russia, and France. Domestic destinations preferred by overseas visitors include Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Qingdao, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Xi'an, and Kunming.