Venturing beyond: Exploring new county towns during May Day holiday

Editor's note: Liu Xiangyan is an associate researcher of the Institute of International Studies at China Tourism Academy. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

This year's May Day holiday extends from May 1 to 5, totaling five days. The longer duration of the holiday has contributed to a discernible uptick in tourism. According to Trip.com, the outbound tourism market has experienced rapid growth, with Chinese tourists traveling to nearly 200 countries and regions and over 3,000 cities worldwide during the holiday period. Meanwhile, international cruise supply has rapidly recovered, leading to a surge in cruise travel bookings, with reservations increasing by over 15 times compared to last year, according to data from travel service platform Fliggy.

It's noteworthy that the popularity of domestic long-distance travel and outbound tourism has also bolstered related tourism products and services. Among them, car rental services stand out as the most prominent. 

According to previous forecasts by the Ministry of Transport, it's estimated that during the holiday period, the average daily inter-regional passenger flow across the country will surpass the levels seen in 2019 and 2023. The proportion of self-driving trips is expected to exceed 80 percent. 

This surge in road trips has also greatly led to increased demand for car rentals. During the May Day holiday, domestic rental car bookings in popular cities increased by nearly 50 percent compared to last year, while overseas rental car bookings increased nearly fourfold, according to Fliggy. Data from Trip.com also indicates that during this year's holiday, domestic rental car orders increased by 40 percent year-on-year, while overseas rental car orders increased by 132 percent. 

The trend of traveling to off-the-beaten-path destinations continues. While first- and second-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Nanjing, Xi'an, Wuhan, Guangzhou, and Changsha remain popular destination cities, smaller cities, especially county towns and county-level cities, are gaining popularity. 

According to Trip.com, bookings to smaller cities such as Yangzhou, Luoyang, Qinhuangdao, Weihai, Guilin, Kaifeng, and Zibo have increased by over 10 percent on average. Meanwhile, travel bookings to county towns like Anji, Tonglu, Dujiangyan, Yangshuo, Mile, Yiwu, and Wuyuan have surged by an average of 36 percent.

Beyond the uniqueness of county-level destinations and higher chances of avoiding crowds, value for money is another significant reason driving tourists to these areas. From the supply side, the improvement of high-speed rail infrastructure has enhanced the accessibility of third- and fourth-tier cities and county-level destinations to travelers from big cities. Additionally, in recent years, there has been continuous improvement in the tourism supply in these county destinations. Furthermore, the prevalence of social media has made it easier for county-level tourist attractions and features to be known to the public. Through sharing and recommendations from netizens, these county destinations are quickly gaining popularity.