Upcoming May Day holiday to see travel boom

Tourists view azalea flowers on Longquan Mountain, Danzhai county, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Yang Wukui)

The upcoming May Day holiday (May 1-5) is expected to spark a travel boom in China. Online travel platforms predict a peak in domestic tourism, with several key trends emerging for the holiday season.

This year, many schools in provinces like Zhejiang, Shandong, Hunan, Hainan and Yunnan will combine their spring break with the May Day holiday, igniting even more travel interest.

Data from travel platform Qunar points to a travel peak from April 24 to May 10. Both hotel and flight bookings, as well as reservations for attractions, have increased by over 20 percent compared to last year, spanning the two weekends on either side of the holiday.

The extended holiday period has expanded travel distances. According to Cheng Chaogong, chief researcher at Tongcheng Research Institute, bookings for long-haul flights, both those exceeding 800 kilometers and those exceeding 1,200 kilometers, have seen a notable rise in share.

During this May Day holiday, tourism hotspots across the country are expecting large crowds, from major cities to small towns and emerging destinations. Traditional favorites like Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu remain popular, while places like Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Xizang and Xinjiang are seeing rapid growth in hotel bookings.

Visually striking destinations are also on the rise. Searches for "Color Walk" travel, featuring landscapes like pink flower fields, green mountains and blue seas, have surged 200 percent year on year. Cities like Sanya and Xiamen, known for their blue seas, and destinations like Moganshan and Yangshuo, famous for their green hills, continue to captivate travelers.

County-level tourism is also booming, with platforms like LY.com reporting a year-on-year increase of 128 percent in bookings for travel products.

Tourists are increasingly seeking immersive experiences, combining travel with events like sports, concerts and cultural activities.

Sporting events and music festivals are emerging as key travel motivators. Data from Qunar shows that a concert by rock band Mayday drove a 91 percent surge in hotel bookings around the National Stadium, or Bird's Nest, in Beijing.

According to online travel platform Mafengwo, during the May Day holiday, exhibition-focused travel saw a sharp rise in popularity. Interest in major events such as the Beijing International Automotive Show and the Canton Fair jumped by 169 percent. Meanwhile, events like the Beijing Music Festival boosted travel searches for their host cities by an average of 141 percent.