China on the move: 160 million expected to make domestic trips over longer Labour Day break
- Shanghai, Beijing among most popular destinations on Chinese mainland, with Thailand, Japan, Singapore appealing to those seeking a foreign trip
- Government announced last month that this year’s May 1 break would be extended to four days
Tourist attractions across China are set to welcome about 160 million visitors next week as people take advantage of the new, extended Labour Day holiday.
The government announced last month that the traditional May 1 break would be increased to four days this year, giving people plenty of time to explore the nation’s favourite cities and scenic spots.
The headline figure came from leading Chinese travel agency Ctrip, while a report by Economic Daily, citing research by China Tourism Research Institute, put the number at 150 million.
Despite this year’s longer break, which runs from Wednesday to Saturday, the larger of the two estimates represents only an 8.8 per cent increase on the 147 million people who booked trips for May 1 last year. That in turn was a 9.3 per cent rise from the same period of 2017.
Meanwhile, the number of people taking overseas breaks over the holiday is expected to grow by 8 per cent from last year, the newspaper said, citing data from various travel agencies. It did not give an absolute figure.
According to online booking platform Lu Mama Tourism, Shanghai, Beijing, Zhuhai and Nanjing are some of the most popular Chinese cities for visitors, while Shanghai Disneyland and Chimelong International Ocean Tourist Resort in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, are among the favourite attractions.
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The Economic Daily report said that 58 per cent of the travel bookings made on the Lu Mama platform for the Labour Day holiday were for between one and three days.
Among the most popular overseas destinations were Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Russia and the United States, it said.
Chinese citizens do not need a visa to enter Indonesia, while Thailand requires only a visa on arrival.
All mainland motorway toll fees for small passenger cars would be waived during the holiday period, which was expected to see 6.2 million car journeys, Beijing Youth Daily reported.
