EP18-Summer Travel Market Heating Up

This summer, the domestic tourism market is heating up in tandem with temperatures. For July and August, group and individual tours surged more than 10 times in number over last summer, a new report showed. Since July 1, China's domestic air travel market entered its summer flying season. Haikou-based Hainan Airlines said that this summer, it expects to operate about 140,000 flights and transport 18 million people, with both figures up 40 percent year-on-year－likely to exceed levels seen in summer 2019, according to the carrier. Coastal cities have become the most popular destinations for family travel, with nearly a quarter of families booking flights to maritime locales such as Sanya, Hainan; Qingdao, Shandong province; Dalian, Liaoning province and Zhoushan, Zhejiang province. Round trip flights between Shanghai and Sanya have become the most popular route this summer and netted the highest volume of bookings so far. For college students, their per capita spending on trips this summer reached nearly 2,500 yuan ($386), up 42 percent year-on-year. Among all students who have plans to travel this summer, college students account for 70 percent of the total, and they prefer to visit domestic locations with cooler weather, the report found. So far, a number of listed travel agencies and sightseeing spots have released half-year earnings forecasts, and they expect positive business performances in the first half, according to market intelligence provider Tonghuashun. Last year, some 1.6 trillion yuan of investment was made in the domestic tourism market, down 10 percent year-on-year. This year, the value is expected to rise about 15 percent year-on-year. Cultural and tourism complexes, parks and small towns have been attracting more investment, said Juyuan Capital. Searing summer temperatures are also luring vacationers to water parks nationwide. This summer, orders of water park tickets surged three times over last summer. In addition, relaxing inside air-conditioned luxury hotels has become a popular option for Chinese travelers, and the number of accommodation packages covering hotel and meal costs this summer surged more than 15 times over last summer, the report said