Guangming Daily reporter Lu Yuanzhen Guangming Daily correspondent Sun Zhipu
During the May Day holiday, spring blossoms and everything grows, and people’s enthusiasm for traveling is rekindled. The fiery degree of the "May 1" tourism market is obvious to all. The peak of ticket booking for high-speed rail, air tickets, hotels and popular scenic spots has already arrived in advance. Tickets, scenic spots and hotel bookings for some popular destinations have increased several times or even ten times compared with the same period in 2019.
This May Day holiday is also a test for the tourism industry. What are the new features and highlights of the May 1 tourism market? In the face of the hot market, is the tourism industry ready?
Tourists are relaxing in Shantang Street, Suzhou, Jiangsu. Xinhua news agency
Tourism demand blowout booking boom comes ahead of schedule
On the eve of May Day, many popular tourist cities and scenic spots have been flooded with people. On the first night when Wang Jiaqi, a tourist from Shanghai, came to Xi ‘an, he rushed to the city that never sleeps in Datang. In the brightly lit night, young men and women dressed in ancient costumes in the crowd make people "cross" back to the prosperous Tang Dynasty in a trance. The poems hanging under the trees have extraordinary artistic conception, and the dense box of the prosperous Tang Dynasty is surrounded by tourists. "Thought ‘ May Day ’ Coming forward can be staggered with the tide of tourists. I didn’t expect the grand occasion of the holiday to appear in advance. " Wang Jiaqi said.
"Grab it! Grab it! " Ms. Li, who made a good travel strategy early, stayed in front of her mobile phone and finally bought a pre-sale high-speed rail ticket from Beijing to Changsha on April 28. On the Qunar.com platform, as of 16: 00 on April 14th, Beijing — Changsha, Beijing — Wuhan and Shanghai — High-speed rail tickets for many popular routes such as Guangzhou have been sold out.
Tourism is recovering strongly. People who have been dormant for three years after the epidemic have sorted out their feelings and set out again to explore "poetry and distance". This year’s "May Day", people’s enthusiasm for traveling is high, and the tourism market is recovering strongly. According to industry insiders, this year’s "May 1" holiday will be more popular than in 2019.
Where do the May Day tourists go? Judging from the data released by some platforms, the overall tourism registration in Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, Chengdu, Xi ‘an, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Wuhan, Guangzhou and Changsha is relatively hot, and the number of "May 1" bookings in many places has surpassed the same period in 2019. Ctrip’s "May 1" holiday travel preview found that as of April 6, domestic travel orders have tied in 2019; Orders for "May 1" long-distance travel accounted for more than 60%, and long-distance travel orders increased by 811% year-on-year. The "May 1" travel consumption forecast data released by Tongcheng Travel shows that the order volume of long-distance travel destinations such as Yunnan, Hainan, Sichuan and Xinjiang has increased by more than 15 times from the previous month.
Recently, the "fire out of the circle" barbecue in Zibo has made the surrounding hotels and homestays nervous. "Business has been very good since the Spring Festival, ‘ May Day ’ The rooms during the period have already been fully booked, and 17 rooms are all full. " Zhou Shuo, the landlord of the homestay in Zibo, Shandong Province, is tired and happy. The data shows that the booking volume of Zibo B&B during the "May 1st" period this year has increased by 12 times compared with the same period in 2019.
"If you haven’t made a travel plan yet, you don’t have to go out. Tickets and hotels for many scenic spots in Suzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing are basically difficult to book. Tourist vehicles are also extremely tight. Today’s tourist buses are all transferred from other places. " Xie Yun, head of a travel agency in Hangzhou, told reporters.
The demand for tourism is blowout, and besides vehicles and hotels, there are also tour guides. Recently, a news that "the 69-year-old tour guide has returned to the rivers and lakes to exert his residual heat" has exploded the circle of friends of tourism practitioners. Xie Yun said that their company’s tour guide schedule is full, and many tour guides who left their posts before have returned, but the market is still scarce.
Liu Min, a professor at the School of Tourism of Beijing Union University, told reporters that the backlog of tourism consumption demand during the epidemic is now being released. Since the beginning of this year, the tourism market has continued to release positive signals. Even during non-holiday periods, many scenic spots still welcome a large number of tourists. During the May Day holiday, consumers’ travel demand is stronger, so it will further release their consumption potential, which is of great significance to boost the confidence of the whole tourism market and the development of tourism enterprises.
Tourists experience the "Fountain" game in Taohuayuan Scenic Spot in Changde, Hunan. Xinhua news agency
Emerging groups join the tourism industry "let a hundred flowers blossom"
"I just want to find a beach to lie down and relax." Li Yu, who works in Beijing, booked a homestay in Rizhao, Shandong in the past two days. He has been busy for many days, and he is going to "reward" himself with a comfortable holiday. In this season suitable for seaside holidays, some originally small coastal cities collectively "exploded". According to the data of Tujia B&B, the number of B&B bookings in 10 cities during the "May 1 ST" period increased by more than 4 times compared with the same period in 2019, including Weihai, Rizhao, Fuzhou, Taizhou, Shantou, Quanzhou and other coastal cities, among which the number of B&B bookings in Weihai surged by 14.6 times.
Xiao He, a college student in Shanghai, recently studied the travel strategy of Beijing, and made a plan of "Special Forces Tourism": he arrived in Beijing in the early morning, went to Tiananmen Square to watch the flag-raising in the early morning, and visited the Forbidden City, Nanluoguxiang, Shichahai, Drum Tower, Yonghe Palace, Yuanmingyuan and Summer Palace &hellip all the way; … For this kind of March-style travel, he loves sports and is full of expectations.
Nowadays, people’s travel modes are more diversified, showing different needs and preferences, and tourists pay more and more attention to quality, experience and innovation.
Theme parks and homestays are the favorites of parents and children tourists, while Shanghai Disneyland, Beijing Universal Resort and Guangzhou Chimelong Wildlife World are the most popular among parents and children tourists. Go to Moganshan outdoor adventure base to challenge yourself, go to wuzhizhou to experience water projects, go hiking, camping and mountaineering in famous mountains and rivers … … It’s a good time for hiking, and the suitable temperature makes these outdoor games return to the public’s field of vision.
The data shows that the number of tourists received by Huangshan in the first quarter is four times that of the same period of last year. As of March 28th, the number of tourists received by Mount Tai has been equivalent to the total number of tourists received in 2022. Recently, the search heat of mountain scenic spots increased by 193% week-on-week.
The popularity of traditional tourist cities has not diminished, and emerging destinations have risen rapidly. Young tourists combine travel with exhibitions, e-sports and museum tours to make a more personalized travel plan. Music Festival, Art Festival, Flower Show, Barbecue … … Driven by fireworks, some cities have quickly become popular tourist destinations. On May 1st, Tianjin Binhai New Area will hold a symphony performance in Jiabao Riverside Park. There will be an aerial performance of 800 drones over Haihe River, and the laser projection show of Haihe River will also feast the eyes of tourists.
"The parallel of positive accumulation and reverse tourism is a major feature. The market is now on ‘ May Day ’ There are full expectations for the peak of tourism, which leads to two reactions. One is to punch in popular destinations and scenic spots, thus forming a trend of more people, and the other is that some tourists plan their trips in reverse to find unpopular and niche scenic spots and activities. " Jin Zhun, Secretary-General of Tourism Research Center of China Academy of Social Sciences, said that many hot spots will be formed during the May Day period, such as famous mountains and rivers, holiday resorts, rural tourism and urban micro-holidays.
At the same time, Jin Zhun pointed out that before and after the May 1 ST, the travel needs of students, the elderly and farmers broke out, which brought new needs to the original travel structure, as well as new ways and new hotspots. Since the beginning of this year, a series of phenomenal social hotspots, such as "Special Forces Tourism" and "Zibo Barbecue", have been related to new groups joining the tourism army.
Visitors watch the musical fountain performance in the North Square of Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi ‘an, Shaanxi. Xinhua news agency
How to protect the rights and interests of tourists when the market chaos "rises"
Recently, a wave of "the landlord’s breach of contract" rushed to the hot search, which caused a hot discussion on the whole network. "The homestay booked in advance was told by the landlord that it was impossible to stay and needed to be cancelled. The reason was actually bankruptcy, but I saw the same room openly appearing on other platforms and hanging a higher price." A netizen expressed anger at the dishonest behavior of the merchant. This is not an isolated phenomenon. Recently, more and more netizens reported that they had received the information that the landlord of the hotel requested to cancel the order during the May Day holiday for various reasons. The real reason for "breaking the contract" is that I found myself underestimating the popularity of "May Day", feeling that the previous pricing was low, and I wanted to re-set a high price to make a big profit.
Many experts said that this kind of behavior not only violates the spirit of the contract, brings inconvenience to consumers, but also damages the reputation of the entire hotel industry, which is a short-sighted behavior of "fishing with exhaustion". "The landlord of the B&B hotel did not establish the concept of long-term operation and did not assume the responsibility of the business entity, which affected his long-term reputation and disrupted the market order." Jin Zhun said.
Faced with the fiery market, people need to think calmly. In terms of price, it is a market law for hotels, restaurants and scenic spots to have reasonable price increases. However, it is illegal to sit on the ground, break the contract without authorization and deceive consumers. This requires the intervention of regulatory forces to protect the legitimate rights and interests of tourism consumers.
At present, many places, including Changsha, Dali and Quanzhou, have put forward special requirements for the price order during the May 1 ST period, demanding that the price should be clearly marked, not to deceive consumers, not to deceive at a low price, to settle at a high price, not to sell goods at a higher price than the marked price, and not to charge any unspecified fees.
In the face of the upcoming peak passenger flow, how should the scenic spot improve its service and reception capacity and calmly deal with it? How to bring a safer and more comfortable travel experience to tourists? This tests the ability of tourism practitioners and the wisdom of market managers.
Liu Min believes that in recent years, consumers’ requirements for the quality of tourism products have been continuously improved, and scenic spots should aim at consumers’ needs, provide rich and characteristic tourism products and create high-quality services. The security system and service facilities of scenic spots should be improved accordingly, and relevant departments should strengthen the implementation of responsibilities to ensure the safety of tourists and scenic spots, pay attention to passenger flow and personnel guidance, avoid trampling, and strengthen security and fire safety. At the same time, strengthen the publicity of travel safety education related knowledge, so that consumers can strengthen their awareness of safety and rights protection.
Jin Zhun believes that in the face of the peak passenger flow, related industries need to pay close attention to several issues. First, establish a solid and powerful comprehensive support network and a thorough and systematic inter-departmental comprehensive guarantee mechanism; Second, do everything possible to improve the carrying capacity of traffic and scenic spots, improve efficiency and expand capacity, and ensure smooth circulation; The third is to grasp the safety bottom line, predict the possible risk points in advance, set up a preventive mechanism from the bottom line thinking, and guard against major safety problems; The fourth is to straighten out the market order, implement the tourism credit system, crack down on illegal activities, and control "unreasonable low-cost tours."
In terms of market supervision, we should make full use of new information and technical means, establish a transparent credit mechanism and improve the market by relying on market means. It is necessary to strengthen price management, fully stimulate the enterprise’s awareness of a century-old shop, promote it to be long-term, brand-name and win-win, and encourage it to participate in the governance of market order.
In addition, guiding people to travel at the wrong peak is also an important aspect to alleviate the pressure of passenger flow. At present, many people have chosen niche destinations, and Wanning in Hainan, Xichang in Sichuan, Xiapu in Fujian and Liuzhou in Guangxi have become the "dark horses" that have attracted much attention. Many college students and elderly tourists have ended their spring outing on the eve of May Day and set foot on their return journey, giving the May Day holiday to busy "office workers".
According to the data of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in the first quarter of this year, the total number of domestic tourists was 1.216 billion, an increase of 386 million over the same period of the previous year and a year-on-year increase of 46.5%.
In the first quarter, domestic tourism revenue (total tourism expenditure) was 1.30 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.53 trillion yuan or 69.5% over the previous year.
According to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce, in the first quarter, the online sales of tourism products and scenic spots in China increased by 115.8%.
(Lu Yuanzhen finishing)