China's Dragon Boat Festival coincides with second holiday, fuelling boom in family tourism
An unusual convergence of the Dragon Boat Festival and Children's Day in China over the weekend led to a surge in domestic tourism bookings to campsites, amusement parks and other attractions, according to travel platforms.
Advertisement
Short-haul domestic travel bookings had grown 23 per cent year on year, according to travel platform Trip.com's latest figures. The trend was driven by 'summer escapes' with parent-child orders making up 35 per cent of overall bookings and 'family-friendly' hotel searches increasing by 45 per cent, a company spokeswoman said.
Latest figures from Alibaba Group Holding's travel-booking platform Fliggy showed that, as of last Wednesday, bookings for theme park tickets had grown by more than 100 per cent over last year's Dragon Boat Festival weekend, while campsite bookings had shot up 80 per cent. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
Family hotel packages that include hotels, food and entertainment had risen by 24 per cent over the same period for 2024, the platform said, while activities such as suburban 'water fun' and picnics with children and pets 'are in high demand'.
'This year's holiday coincides with Children's Day, enhancing the appeal of family travel,' Fliggy said in a statement ahead of the May 31-June 2 break.
Advertisement
Domestic holiday travel in China
has increased since the Covid-19 pandemic , with growing interest in scenery, cultural experiences and adventures – albeit with an eye towards saving money amid economic uncertainties.
Chinese officials have looked to tourism as a driver of support for the nation's service sector.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
15 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
What makes Japanese food special? From sushi to miso, rice to ramen, it's about simplicity
The Michelin Guide lists over 1,000 restaurants in Japan and has awarded more than 360 of them stars. Advertisement That Japanese cuisine is considered one of the best in the world is thanks to the aroma, freshness of ingredients and stylish presentation of its dishes – many of which are little known outside the country. 'Aesthetics, seasonality and focus on fresh, high-quality ingredients' is what characterises Japanese cooking for Asian food blogger Stefan Leistner. The focus is always on the product. 'The aim is to preserve the natural flavour, which is why spices, heat and fat are used much more sparingly than in other Asian cuisines,' says Inga Pfannebecker, a cookbook author from Amsterdam. Udon, with its gentle flavour and aroma, epitomises what's good about Japanese cuisine. Photo: Marugame Udon Japanese-Australian author and food blogger Emiko Davies has lived in Italy for many years, but still raves about her grandmother's and mother's cooking.
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Lee Jae-myung projected to win South Korean presidential election: exit polls
South Korea's liberal Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung is expected to win the country's snap presidential election, according to projections by local broadcasters. Advertisement Reuters has not independently confirmed the results of the joint exit poll on Tuesday by broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS, which put Lee on 51.7 per cent and his conservative rival Kim Moon-soo on 39.3 per cent. The exit poll has in previous elections mostly been in line with the final results. A separate poll by broadcaster JTBC put Lee at 50.6 per cent and Kim at 39.4 per cent. Channel A also predicted a Lee win by similar margins. Around 78 per cent of South Korea's 44.39 million eligible voters had cast ballots to pick the leader of Asia's fourth-largest economy, hoping to draw to a close six months of turmoil triggered by a shock martial law briefly imposed by former leader Yoon Suk-yeol. National Election Commission officials prepare to count the ballots for the presidential election in Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters After being impeached by parliament in December, Yoon was removed from office by the Constitutional Court on April 4, less than three years into his five-year term, triggering the snap election that now stands to remake South Korea's political leadership and foreign policies.
South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
80% of Hong Kong's disadvantaged children suffer nutritional imbalance: survey
Eight in 10 children from low-income families in Hong Kong suffer from serious nutritional imbalance, with less than 14 per cent getting enough dairy, a survey has found. Advertisement The People Service Centre on Tuesday released the findings of a four-year study that monitored 426 children, aged three to 11, from underprivileged households, including those living in public housing and substandard accommodation such as subdivided flats and cubicle rooms. The study, conducted by the poverty-focused NGO in collaboration with the Hong Kong Community Dietitian Association and Emeritus Professor in Public Health and Primary Care Albert Lee at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, showed that 80 per cent of the children had a serious nutritional imbalance, with only 13.6 per cent meeting the dairy intake target set by the Department of Health. About 60 per cent of the children had insufficient intake of both fruits and vegetables. Nearly half failed to meet the recommended grain intake, while close to 40 per cent did not consume enough meat. 'There were at least 40 per cent of children who did not meet the standards in each of the five major food categories,' Gloria Yeung Tan-ping, a project officer at the centre, said. 'The figures reflected the serious nutritional imbalance in children, and the intake level will affect their growth.' Advertisement The department recommends a daily balanced diet for children aged two to five that includes 1.5 to three bowls of grains, at least 1.5 servings of vegetables, at least one serving of fruit, up to 111 grams of meat, fish, egg and alternatives, and two servings of milk or alternatives.
