Financial Services Association, May 6 (Reporter Hu Haoqiong) The 2024 “May Day” holiday comes to an end. The number of domestic travelers surpassed the “hottest May Day” last year, and small city travel is “all the rage.” The inbound and outbound markets are picking up at an accelerated pace, and the number of international air ticket bookings on OTA platforms has reached a record high.

According to today's “Voice of Cultural Tourism” news, according to estimates from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's data center, the total number of domestic travel trips nationwide was 295 million, up 7.6% year on year, up 28.2% from the same period in 2019 according to comparable standards; the total travel expenses of domestic tourists were 166.89 billion yuan, up 12.7% year on year, and 13.5% on a comparable scale compared to the same period in 2019. The total number of visitors entering and leaving the country during the “May 1st” holiday reached 3.672 million, including 1.755 million inbound visitors and 1.897 million outbound visitors.

Domestic tours to the most popular small towns in Beijing and Shanghai are also “popular”

Judging from data from several OTA platforms, the traditional tourist destinations of Beijing and Shanghai were the most popular during the “May Day” holiday this year. At the same time, domestic travel has also undergone structural changes, and travel orders in many small cities have increased significantly.

According to “Cultural Tourism Beijing”, during the holiday season, Beijing received a total of 16.966 million visitors, achieving tourism revenue of 19.62 billion yuan, up 9.4% and 10.2% year on year, up 18.5% and 23.1% from the same period in 2019, all of which reached record highs for the same period, making it the most popular domestic tourist destination city.

According to data obtained by a CFA reporter from the Shanghai Culture and Tourism Administration, according to Shanghai Tourism Big Data Surveillance, during the “May 1st” holiday this year, Shanghai received a total of 16.2394 million visitors, an increase of 3.77% over the previous year; major tourist attractions (sites) in Shanghai received 7.32 million visitors, an increase of 15% over the previous year.

According to Ctrip (TCOM.US) data, the year-on-year growth rate of travel orders in Tier 1 and 2 cities was less than that of Tier 3 and 4, while Tier 3 and 4 cities were smaller than the county market. Yangzhou, Luoyang, Qinhuangdao, Weihai, Guilin, Kaifeng, Zibo, Huangshan, Tai'an, and Shangrao are popular third- and fourth-tier destinations, with an average increase of 11% in travel orders. Anji, Tonglu, Dujiangyan, Yangshuo, Mile, Yiwu, Wuyuan, Jinghong, Kunshan, and Pingtan are popular county tourist destinations, with an average increase of 36% in travel orders.

In addition to this, cultural and expo venues maintain a high level of popularity. According to data from Tongcheng Travel (00780.HK), during the May Day holiday this year, the popularity of reservations for popular museums, ancient cities and ancient towns increased more than fourfold over the same period last year. The Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum Museum, the Palace Museum, the Guanghan Sanxingdui Museum, and the Luoyang Museum are the most popular museums to visit during the holidays.

On the Shanghai side, the Financial Services Association reporter learned that the 147 museums opened to the public received a total of 825,700 visitors, an increase of 38.4% over the previous year; the 64 art museums opened to the public received 251,900 visitors, an increase of 48.7% over the previous year.

On the Yangzhou side, the Financial Services Association reporter saw when reserving tickets for the China Grand Canal Museum on May 4 at the end of April that the museum's tickets showed “full.” Afterwards, the China Grand Canal Museum also announced an extension of opening hours by 1 hour and an additional 2,000 tickets. When the museum was close to closing on the 4th, the reporter saw that there were still a large number of visitors in the museum, and there were long queues for some projects.

At the same time, hotel occupancy rates have also been raised. On the Tongcheng travel platform, the popularity of reservations for hotels and scenic spots in small cities below the third tier in the Northeast and Western regions increased by more than 100% year over year.

On the hotel company side, the Financial Services Association reporter learned that Jinjiang Hotel (600754.SH) (China) business data showed that the peak occupancy rate from May 1 to 3 was impressive. The average occupancy rate during the peak period was as high as 97%; northern provinces such as Liaoning and Jilin, and popular tourist destinations recently sought after, such as Ningxia and Henan, also had a comprehensive occupancy rate of over 93% during peak periods. In some second- and third-tier cities in the central and western regions, such as Nanchang, Taiyuan, Tianshui, Leshan, Datong, and Kaifeng, the Jinjiang Hotel (China region) was full of rooms from May 1 to 4.

In terms of resorts, the average occupancy rate of Club Med Mediterranean Club China Resort under Fosun Tourism Culture (01992.HK) is about 90%. The average occupancy rate of its Guilin and Lijiang resorts from May 1 to 3 was close to full. In addition, Anji Resort was fully booked for three consecutive days, while Qiandao Lake, Taicang, and Nanjing Xianlin Resorts were fully booked on May 2.

Inbound and outbound travel resumes, airlines “prepare” for peak summer travel season

Compared to the domestic travel market, inbound and outbound travel resumed further on “May 1st” this year.

According to air travel data, during the “May 1st” holiday this year, the average daily passenger traffic volume of inbound and outbound civil aviation passengers exceeded 180,000, an increase of about 112% over the “May 1st” holiday last year, and recovered to more than 75% of the “May Day” holiday in 2019. Compared with last year's “May Day” holiday, the number of civil aviation passengers traveling to and from Nagoya, Berlin, Tokyo, Paris, Los Angeles, etc. increased significantly during the “May Day” holiday this year.

According to data provided by Hainan Airport (600515.SH), during the “May 1st” holiday this year, the number of inbound and outbound tourists from Hainan continued to rise. As of 18:00 on May 5, Meilan Airport and Phoenix Airport had carried out a total of 172 overseas flights and carried 23,000 inbound and outbound passengers, an increase of 4.6 times over the previous year.

Overall, on the Where to Go data platform, the number of international airline tickets and hotel reservations reached record highs on the platform during the May 1st holiday this year. Among them, air ticket reservations for Saudi Arabia and Egypt in the Middle East increased by more than 3 times, while the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Qatar increased by more than 50%; in Europe, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Ireland, Spain, and Croatia increased ticket bookings by more than 1 times. On the Ctrip platform, inbound travel orders increased 105% year over year.

It is worth mentioning that the number of tickets booked for travel to Japan has increased significantly, and the number of airline ticket bookings to Japan on any platform has increased by more than 60% compared to 2019. According to aviation vertical and horizontal data, the number of domestic civil aviation passengers to Japan exceeded 65,000, and the average number of daily passengers exceeded 13,000, recovering to more than 73% of the “May 1st” period in 2019.

“Judging from the company's sales situation, Japan is a popular short-term destination. The reason why the product is selling well is that Japanese visas include three-year or five-year round trip visas. Many visitors with their own visas will use Japan as a short-distance travel destination. Second, Japan is within the comfort zone of a four-hour flight. The time difference is close, and families with families with children and the elderly will consider traveling to Japan.” Li Mengran, media PR manager of Zhongxin Travel (002707.SZ), told the Financial Federation reporter that the current sales situation of cruise products to Japan is also very good. Even compared to the Japan-Korea cruise routes, the pure Japanese route is selling better.

As outbound travel continues to resume, Club Med Mediterranean Regional Resort in Southeast Asia is also benefiting as a result. According to Club Med, during the “May 1st” period this year, nearly 20% of the region's resorts came from mainland China. The outbound travel turnover of Chinese travelers doubled from last year and increased 25% over the same period in 2019.

With the opening and resumption of international flights, inbound and outbound travel is also expected to resume. Currently, airlines have plans to continue to increase capacity investment for international flights to prepare for the peak summer travel season.

A Financial Services Agency reporter learned from Juneyao Airlines (603885.SH) that Juneyao Airlines will resume daily flights between Beijing and Osaka from May 1, and will encrypt 4 daily flights between Shanghai and Osaka, 2 flights per day from Nanjing to Osaka, and 1 flight per day from Shanghai to Penang from mid-late June.