During the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, which took place from 8 to 10 June, China’s tourism market maintained stable performance but saw a disappointing box office for films. However, the popularity of mugwort bouquets was an unexpected blessing. The Dragon Boat Festival is one of China’s major traditional festivals, falling on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar.
1. Domestic tourism proceeds smoothly, on par with 2023 performance
According to the data centre of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, during the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, China’s domestic tourism outings totalled 110 million trips, with domestic tourists spending a total of 40.35 billion RMB (approx. 5.57 billion USD). Compared with 2023’s holiday period, which had 106 million domestic trips and an income of 37.31 billion RMB (approx. 5.15 billion USD), the performance after two years remains about the same.
In contrast with the recently concluded May Day and Qingming holidays, the three-day festivities continued the trend of travelling to small cities. The 2024 Dragon Boat Festival Holiday Travel Consumption Report released by LY.com showed that during the holiday, the popularity of travel bookings in many third and fourth-tier cities in China more than doubled year-on-year. The hit drama ‘To the Wonder’ made local tourism in Altay popular fast, with hotel bookings in the city during the holiday increasing by 186% year-on-year.
2. Low quality content and declining box office
Taopiaopiao showed that by midday on 10 June, the 2024 Dragon Boat Festival box office reached 300 million RMB (approx. 41.4 million USD), a prominent decline from last year’s 909 million RMB (approx. 127.26 million USD). With 507 million RMB (approx. 70 million USD) at the box office, “Lost in the Stars,” the leading movie in 2023 achieved the second-highest Dragon Boat Festival box office in history.
Though 2022’s performance was quite poor due to the Covid-19 pandemic, performance of box offices during the holiday period for 2021 and 2022 totalled 468 million and 179 million RMB respectively (approx. 64.6 million and 24.7 million USD). Clearly, the films this year lacked market attraction.
3. Mugwort bouquets as a trend
The symbols of the Dragon Boat Festival include dragon boat racing and eating zongzi, but there is also the tradition of hanging mugwort and wearing scented sachets made from the plant. The distinctive aroma of mugwort can repel mosquitoes and symbolises ‘peace and well-being’.
Influenced by the rise of national trends, this year’s Dragon Boat Festival saw a surge in popularity for new Chinese-style mugwort door hangings across offline shops, e-commerce sites, and social media. Originally, mugwort only costs 2 or 3 RMB per bundle. Mugwort bouquets, after being decorated by florists with five-coloured tassels, lucky cards, and other Chinese accessories, sold for hundreds of RMB per unit.
This trend mainly originated from netizens’ endorsements on Xiaohongshu (RED), where high-value, new-style door hangings have become a popular feature in festive photos shared on social media. Such product innovation not only continues the tradition of the Dragon Boat Festival but also caters to the aesthetics of young people, inspiring new commercial vitality.
