Travel bookings for upcoming New Year holidays increasing

Sales for train tickets for December 31 started on Tuesday, while passengers can purchase tickets for January 1, 2025, on Wednesday. With the New Year and Spring Festival approaching, Chinese travel platforms have seen rising bookings for the upcoming holidays amid the country's ramped-up policy support to boost domestic consumption.

Bookings of group tour products for the Spring Festival holidays in Tuniu over December's second week increased by 40 percent week-on-week, and bookings for both flight tickets and hotels rose by over 50 percent compared with the previous week, thepaper.cn reported.

The report noted that hot domestic destinations include Beijing, Nanjing in East China's Jiangsu Province, Shanghai, and Sanya in South China's Hainan Province along with other popular cities.

In terms of international travel, Bangkok, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, and Singapore were highly popular flight bookings on the online travel agency Qunar.

Travel products themed around experiencing traditional customs, cultural and museum tours, ice and snow activities, and escaping from the cold weather are particularly popular, per the report. Meanwhile, family groups with children account for about 80 percent of travelers for GZL International Travel Service.

While the break for the New Year on January 1 is only one day, many travelers choose to combine it with other breaks. From December 28 to January 5, the average price of domestic airline tickets remained at about 820 yuan ($112.56), increased about 8 percent compared with last year, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

The upcoming holidays are likely to see a travel surge, especially as relevant authorities and localities are currently bolstering the development of the ice and snow economy, Jiang Yiyi, a vice dean of the School of Leisure Sports and Tourism at Beijing Sport University, told the Global Times on Tuesday, adding that the relevant products and services have been continuously improving.

Jiang noted that the thriving development of ice and snow tourism can also be combined with cultural tourism and wellness tourism, which will further enrich tourists' travel experience.

The integration of culture and tourism has created a strong momentum promoting domestic traveling and consumption, said Song Ding, a research fellow at the China Development Institute. With the consumption stimulus taking effect and the implementation of new concepts such as the ice and snow economy, Song expected the momentum to continue for the holidays.

On Monday, China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced plans for 12 winter tourism-themed travel routes across the country, aiming to further activate the ice and snow economy during the 2024-25 winter season.

The 12 travel routes are set in Beijing, Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality and Sichuan Province, the three provinces in Northeast China, and other regions. These travel routes include winter sports venues, scenic spots, natural reserves, museums, and special festive events, set to further promote and expand ice and snow tourism-related consumption.