Tuniu: Off-peak travel during Labor Day and national style tourism are popular, "internet celebrity cities" and emerging destinations are making efforts together

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Tuniu's "2025 May Day Travel Consumption Review" (referred to as the "Report") shows that this year's May Day domestic travel popularity has surged, with a particularly significant increase in self-driving travel product bookings, which saw a year-on-year growth of nearly 40%; bookings for individual travel products such as transportation and accommodation also showed a noticeable year-on-year increase. The outbound travel market is equally booming, with year-on-year growth of 23% and 18% in the number of travelers for free travel and group tours, respectively, among outbound packaged travel product bookings.

"Early Bird Travel" and Off-Peak Travel at the End of the Holiday Show Their Charm, Accelerating Release of Consumption Demand from Tourists in Lower-Tier Cities

Paid leave and flexible off-peak vacations are gradually becoming a clear trend in the tourism market, with more and more tourists choosing to travel during off-peak times to enjoy a more comfortable and leisurely travel experience. The "Report" indicates that among users traveling during the May Day group period, nearly 19% of tourists chose to start their journey ahead of the holiday. The post-80s and post-90s generations from key source cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Wuhan have become the main force of "early bird travel."

The early "birds" enjoy the world ahead of time, with the first batch of "early birds" during the May Day group period starting their 29-day multi-country tour in Europe, covering Italy, France, Cyprus, Malta, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg on April 18, deeply experiencing the diverse cultures and unique charm of the European continent. The entire journey spans the May Day holiday and its surrounding days, returning on May 16.

The peak of travel during the May Day holiday is concentrated in the first two days of the holiday, namely May 1 and 2, with the number of travelers accounting for 27% and 21%, respectively. Additionally, nearly 7% of users chose to start their travels on the last day of the holiday, initiating off-peak travel by combining leave after the holiday. Popular destinations for off-peak travel at the end of the holiday include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Sanya, Chengdu, Xi'an, Nanjing, Suzhou, Chongqing, and Hangzhou.

In recent years, the continuous expansion of highway, high-speed rail, and airport networks has extended coverage to more lower-tier cities and counties, providing great convenience for travelers from lower-tier cities and further promoting the rapid release of tourism consumption demand. The tourism penetration rate among tourists from third- and fourth-tier cities is continuously increasing, gradually becoming a new force in the tourism market.

The "Report" shows that during this year's May Day holiday, the number of travelers from source cities such as Liupanshui, Huludao, Zhangzhou, and Zunyi increased by over 70% year-on-year. Additionally, the travel enthusiasm of users from Datong, Yingkou, Jieyang, Suqian, Nanping, and Fuyang also maintained a high growth trend, with year-on-year increases in the number of travelers ranking among the top

The "Internet Celebrity City" Effect Continues to Ferment, National Style Travel Becomes a New Trend

During the "May Day" holiday, many destinations launched a series of colorful cultural and tourism activities, bringing visitors a unique cultural and tourism feast. Driven by new media platforms, the "Internet Celebrity City" effect continues to ferment, becoming a new hotspot for tourism consumption. The younger generation is attracted by various exciting travel content on social media, further stimulating their travel demand, while also eager to share their travel experiences on social media, creating a continuous dissemination effect that attracts more tourists to check in and experience "Internet Celebrity Cities." According to the report, destinations such as Beijing, Shanghai, Sanya, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Xi'an, Chongqing, and Wuhan are among the most popular "Internet Celebrity Cities" for domestic travel during this year's "May Day" holiday, with high check-in enthusiasm from tourists.

Many "Internet Celebrity Cities" also experienced explosive growth in the number of travelers during this holiday. Among them, destinations like Leshan, Zhangjiajie, and Datong saw a year-on-year increase in the number of travelers exceeding 200%; destinations such as Jingdezhen, Weihai, and Urumqi saw a year-on-year increase exceeding 100%; and destinations like Guiyang, Rizhao, Jieyang, and Taiyuan also had year-on-year increases in traveler numbers above 80%.

In terms of booking packaged travel products for domestic travel, group tour products are particularly popular, accounting for 56% of the number of travelers. Among them, pure play tours such as "Nanjing 3-Day Tour," "Sanya-Wuzhizhou-Paradise-Nanshan 5-Day Tour," "Beijing 5-Day Tour," "Xi'an-Terracotta Army-Huaqing Palace 3-Day Tour," and "Hukou-Pingyao-Wutai Mountain-Suspended Temple-Yungang Grottoes 7-Day Tour" have become popular choices for tourists.

In addition, Tuniu has launched the "Fun Travel in China: New National Style Travel" series of products for destinations such as Guilin, Jiuzhaigou, Zhangjiajie, Dunhuang, Luoyang, Yili, and Jingdezhen, which are also favored by tourists. This series of products integrates local characteristic national style elements with experiences of mountains, rivers, countryside, cultural leisure, and natural scenery, allowing tourists to deeply experience the unique connotation and charm of traditional culture through activities like Hanfu park tours and experiencing intangible cultural heritage and handicrafts In addition to group tours, self-driving tours and free travel are also popular choices among Tuniu users, accounting for 25% and 14% of the total number of travelers in domestic packaged travel product bookings, respectively. The popularity of self-driving tours has seen significant growth, with the number of travelers increasing by nearly 40% year-on-year. Among them, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Xi'an, Chengdu, and Tianjin are the most popular choices for self-driving tour users.

Significant increase in transportation and accommodation bookings, with a 25% year-on-year growth in flight bookings

During the "May Day" group travel period, there was a significant increase in bookings for train tickets, flights, and hotels for domestic travel. According to the report, the number of travelers booking train tickets for domestic travel during this year's "May Day" group travel period increased by 10% year-on-year, flight bookings increased by 25%, and hotel bookings increased by 15%.

This year's "May Day," high-speed rail travel once again became a popular choice for tourists, with high-speed rail cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Wuhan, and Guiyang standing out as favored destinations for high-speed rail travelers.

In terms of flight bookings, among the popular domestic travel routes during Tuniu's "May Day" holiday, the routes from Shanghai to Beijing, Beijing to Chengdu, Beijing to Shanghai, Beijing to Guangzhou, Shanghai to Guangzhou, Nanjing to Chengdu, Chongqing to Beijing, Hangzhou to Beijing, Shanghai to Shenzhen, and Guangzhou to Beijing are particularly hot.

In terms of hotel bookings, cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Chengdu, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Xi'an have high hotel booking data.

Significant increase in demand for in-depth travel in a single destination abroad, emerging long-distance travel destinations

For outbound travel, group tours and free travel are popular choices among Tuniu users, with the number of travelers during the "May Day" group travel period increasing by 18% and 23% year-on-year, respectively. With the benefits of visa-free travel, the consumption characteristics of outbound travelers have also changed significantly, with tourists pursuing a deeper and higher quality travel experience, leading to a noticeable increase in demand for in-depth travel in a single destination. More tourists are choosing to extend their overnight stays in a single destination, enhancing their travel experience by slowing down the pace of travel In addition, Chinese tourists have raised higher demands for tourism resources at overseas destinations, including Chinese-language explanations, compliant transportation, and hotels. In terms of travel styles, more direct flights, local tours, pure play tours, small group tours, private tours, and semi-free travel options, as well as themed products such as family-friendly and girlfriend trips, are favored by tourists.

Short-haul outbound travel dominates the outbound travel market during the "May Day" holiday, with Hong Kong and Macau continuing to lead in popularity. Additionally, destinations such as Japan, Thailand, Maldives, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Cambodia are also popular choices among Tuniu users.

In terms of travel methods, users of short-haul outbound travel are more enthusiastic about group tours and independent travel. Among them, group tour products such as "Tokyo-Fuji-Kyoto-Nara-Osaka 7-day tour," "Singapore 5-day tour," "Bangkok-Pattaya 6-day tour," "Malaysia 5-day tour," and "Sri Lanka 6-day tour" are in high demand.

For long-haul outbound travel, destinations such as the UAE, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, and Morocco rank high in popularity during this "May Day" group travel period. Emerging destinations like Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with their unique charm and new travel experiences, are attracting increasing attention from tourists, with a significant rise in bookings.

Users of long-haul outbound travel are more inclined towards group tours, accounting for nearly 85% of travel participants. Among them, bookings for tours such as "10-day tour of Turkey," "10-day tour of Serbia-Montenegro-Bosnia and Herzegovina," "11-day tour of Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia," "12-day tour of Spain-Portugal," and "12-day tour of Austria-Czech Republic-Hungary" are booming. Overall, long-haul outbound travel with longer itineraries is expected to see stronger growth during the summer vacation. With the further release of travel demand from students and family groups during the summer, the long-haul outbound travel market is likely to reach a new peak.