Chinese people prefer to travel to the countryside and drive their own cars.

According to data compiled by major Chinese travel service platforms, during the five-day International Labor Day holiday, Chinese people are favoring types of tourism such as visiting distant cities, self-driving car trips, and music-based excursions.

Người dân Trung Quốc chuộng về các miền quê, du lịch bằng xe tự lái

New travel trends during the May holiday in China. (Illustration photo. Source: Wiki)

Ms. Liu Yang, who works in Shanghai, planned to vacation with friends in Xinchang District, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province. She said that convenient transportation, decent hotels with reasonable prices have made this tourist destination stand out.

Famous filming locations in Xinchang also help visitors escape from the suffocating urban life.

Many tourists also prefer to arrive in major cities by plane or train, then rent a car to explore the surrounding area. This trend is supported by quality tourist routes and preferential policies such as free highways nationwide for cars with 7 seats or less during the holiday season.

Fliggy data shows that car rental bookings in popular domestic cities increased by nearly 50% compared to the same period last year during the holiday period.

According to Trip.com (Ctrip), hotel bookings in county-level markets increased 68% year-on-year during the holiday, far exceeding the national average. The data also showed that trips to rural areas increased 42% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the resumption of international flights and China's visa-free policy for some countries have boosted overseas tourism.

Ctrip reported a 132% increase in overseas self-driving car rental bookings with 60% being new customers, while Fliggy's overseas car rental bookings nearly quadrupled year-on-year.

Attending concerts or music festivals in cities has also emerged as a new travel trend, with hundreds of events expected to be held nationwide during this holiday.

Data from Fliggy and Ctrip both show that the number of hotel bookings around concert venues has doubled compared to last year.

Source