Trip.com Group China May Day holiday forecast data shows up to 200 million tourists set to travel

Trip.com Group, a leading global travel services provider, has released its forecast data for the upcoming May Day holiday in China’s mainland showing up to 200 million tourists will be on the move over the 5-day break. According to data from Trip.com Group platform, Ctrip, as of April 14 bookings for the May Day holiday have seen significant increases across many business areas in comparison with the same period in 2019.

According to the forecast data, the current volume of hotel bookings has achieved a 43% increase compared to the same period in 2019. High-end hotel bookings accounted for more than 50% of total bookings over the May Day holiday. This forecast aligns with previous domestic travel trends, where many Chinese mainland travellers opt for a hotel-based vacation to spend the national holiday.

Air ticket bookings have also once again seen an increase compared to the same May Day holiday period in 2019, growing by 23%. With the increased demand, the average price of an economy class air ticket has risen to RMB 1,021, exceeding the average price of economy air tickets from the same period in 2019.

The forecast data shows that as of April 14, the number of people nationwide making bookings for attractions through Trip.com Group's Ctrip platform increased by 114% compared to 2019. This number is expected to boom in the weeks approaching the May Day holiday due to the short booking cycle for attractions. In China’s mainland, advance attraction ticket booking is a new phenomenon and feature introduced and spread by the industry to better predict and prepare attraction sites for visitors and to facilitate improved management of visitor numbers following the pandemic.

This May Day holiday will see greater enthusiasm for long-distance travel across provinces in China’s mainland. The data shows that over 70% of tourists are choosing inter-provincial travel, a trend that builds on the short-haul travel boom that occurred in China’s mainland following the removal of domestic travel restrictions. The current level of car rental bookings for May Day holiday travel have reached growth of 126% compared to the same period in 2019, with nearly 90% of car rental bookings made for inter-provincial travel.

Trip.com Group booking and search volumes from China’s mainland reveal the extent of pent up travel demand that exists in domestic markets. The most recent Qingming Festival holiday saw Chinese domestic travel bookings on Trip.com Group platform, Ctrip, increase by 300% compared to 2019. Trip.com Group data on Chinese mainland demand for outbound travel to Macao for the upcoming May Day holiday saw bookings rise by 20% compared to the same period in 2019.

The strong domestic travel recovery in the China’s mainland market is further evidence that the global travel revival will have a staggered build up. As the vaccine rollout continues worldwide and global initiatives, such as the CommonPass platform Trip.com Group supports, become more popularised safe cross-border travel will become possible.