Dragon Boat Festival travel boom highlights China's economic strength

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

During the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, China's domestic cultural and travel consumption demonstrated strong vitality. 

China projected 657 million cross-regional trips during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday from May 31 to June 2, with an average of 219 million trips per day – a year-on-year increase of 3 percent. Box office revenue during the holiday exceeded 460 million yuan ($63.9 million), significantly surpassing the same period last year. According to data released by China Mobile's Wutong Big Data, the number of domestic travelers during this year's holiday was projected to increase by 6 percent compared to last year. These figures not only reflect the consumption potential of traditional festivals but also highlight the strong resilience and momentum of the Chinese economy.

During this traditional folk festival, cultural heritage experiences became the core highlight of travel consumption. Data from multiple platforms show that searches related to Dragon Boat Festival folk customs have more than doubled year on year, with keywords such as "dragon boat" and "zongzi" seeing a month-on-month surge of over 200 percent.

Some folk tourism destinations have seized the opportunity of dragon boat races to transform spectator enthusiasm into consumer spending, converting event traffic into consumption growth and turning dragon boat racing into a new engine for consumption increase. Take Foshan in Guangdong Province as an example, since the concept of "Longchao" (super league of dragon boat races) first emerged in Nanhai, Foshan City, in 2023, dragon boat races that blend traditional culture with competitive appeal have captured the attention of tourists nationwide. According to data from Trip.com, during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, overall tourism bookings in Foshan increased by 167 percent year on year, hotel bookings rose by 145 percent, and flight bookings grew by 110 percent.

This year, the Dragon Boat Festival holiday coincided with International Children's Day, making family travel a dominant force in holiday tourism. According to Wutong Big Data forecast, the number of family travel nationwide is expected to grow by 12 percent compared to 2024. On the Trip.com platform, family travel orders accounted for 35 percent of the total bookings, and searches for family-friendly hotels rose by 45 percent year on year. On Qunar, bookings for family rooms increased by 51 percent compared to the same period last year. In addition to theme parks, zoos, and cultural venues, experiencing intangible cultural heritage related to the Dragon Boat Festival has become a popular choice for families. In many scenic areas, children can try their hands at making traditional festival items such as wormwood hammers, sachets, and colorful five-strand cords, immersing themselves in the charm of traditional crafts.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, international tourism markets also witnessed significant growth, with both outbound destinations and inbound source markets primarily concentrated in neighboring countries and regions. According to the National Immigration Administration, the average daily number of cross-border travelers during the holiday reached 1.97 million, marking a 2.7 percent increase compared to last year's Dragon Boat Festival. Data from Trip.com shows that the most popular outbound travel destinations during the holiday are mostly within a three-hour flight radius, including Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia. Similarly, the main inbound tourism source markets are also within this radius, with South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore being the key contributors.

The booming cultural and tourism consumption during the Dragon Boat Festival is a micro-level reflection of the long-term positive momentum of China's economy, revealing a vivid portrait of the country's economic resilience, shaped by the fusion of tradition and modern innovation as well as the ongoing upgrade in the quality of cultural and tourism consumption. This resilience has stemmed not only from the vast domestic demand but also from the steady recovery of consumer confidence.