China’s Dragon Boat Festival holiday saw strong tourism growth, driven by dragon boat races, traditional cultural experiences and a surge in inbound travel bookings.
Dragon boat races and traditional cultural activities helped drive tourism during China’s Dragon Boat Festival holiday, according to a holiday travel report released by Chinese online travel platform Fliggy on June 21st.
The report showed that inbound travel bookings surged nearly tenfold year-on-year during the holiday period. Travellers from Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore were among the largest sources of inbound visitors.
Meanwhile, cooler destinations gained popularity as many travellers sought relief from rising summer temperatures. Summer escape trips and grassland tours emerged as some of the holiday’s most popular travel themes.
According to Fliggy’s data, the growing popularity of long-distance summer trips boosted demand for transportation services. Bookings for chauffeured car tours more than doubled from a year earlier.
At the city level, Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Wuhan and Xi’an remained the most popular destinations during the holiday. Meanwhile, Dalian, Lanzhou and Qingdao recorded some of the fastest growth rates.
Traditional culture also remained a major attraction. Dragon boat races frequently appeared among the most-discussed topics on Chinese social media during the holiday.
Many travellers included cultural experiences in their itineraries. Popular activities included making zongzi, weaving colourful festival cords, crafting scented sachets and watching dragon boat competitions.
The report noted that the combination of traditional culture and leisure travel continued to shape holiday experiences across China, adding a festive atmosphere to the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.
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