Photo: CFP

China is expected to experience a surge in outbound tourism during the upcoming May Day holidays, as data from major online travel agencies show a rise in tour bookings. Experts said that the growth can be attributed to factors such as visa-free policies and rising demand for travel.

The travel popularity for the upcoming May Day holidays is steadily increasing compared to 2023, with a more significant growth in outbound and inbound travel bookings. Unlike the short-distance trips during the Qingming Festival, medium and long-distance travel will be the focus during the May Day holidays, according to a report sent to the Global Times by online travel agency Trip.com Group.

According to the report, the search popularity for domestic hotels and flights has slightly increased compared to 2023, while the search popularity for outbound flights has significantly increased by 56 percent year-on-year.

Based on the travel agencies' data, the tour bookings' surge can be credited to various factors such as enhanced people-to-people exchanges between nations, the implementation of visa-free policies, a surge in demand for outbound travel, as well as the ongoing enhancement of transportation and destination facilities, Wu Liyun, a professor of China Academy of Culture and Tourism of Beijing International Studies University, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

Wu said that thanks to the facilitation of visas and the increase in aviation capacity, the Chinese inbound and outbound tourism market is expected to experience rapid growth in 2024, driving the global tourism market to recover. The China Tourism Academy predicted in February that the number of outbound travels could reach 130 million in 2024.

In terms of outbound tourism, popular destinations include Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, the US and Indonesia. Meanwhile, the travel bookings to countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar have seen a higher year-on-year growth rate, said the Trip.com report. 

Also, the international cruise packages departing from Shanghai and Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province, for the upcoming May Day holidays have almost sold out, according to the report.

Meanwhile, more tourists from small and medium-sized cities are starting to plan outbound trips, with destinations in East Asia and Southeast Asia still being the first choice for many travelers going abroad, according to a report sent to the Global Times by Tongcheng Travel on Wednesday.

The five-day holidays are enough to plan for a relatively long-distance trip either abroad or within the country. "I plan to travel to the South Korea or other regions," a Shanghai resident surnamed Liu told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The Trip.com report also indicated that, in terms of inbound tourism, during the May Day holidays, the number of inbound tourism bookings increased by 130 percent compared to 2023. The main inbound countries include Japan, the US, South Korea and Canada, while the popular domestic destinations for foreign tourists include Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.