After the Dragon Boat Festival ended on 2 June, China’s Ministry of Transport released its data on travel during the long weekend. Cross-region movement reached 657 million people, up 3% compared to last year.
Between 30 May and 2 June, about 600 million people travelled via road, up 3.14% year-on-year (YoY). This is because the shorter holiday means shorter trips and more people choosing to drive. About 47.11 million took trains, up 2.3% YoY. Shorter distances such as Chongqing to Chengdu, Beijing to Tianjin, Shanghai to Suzhou and Shenzhen to Guangzhou were popular. Flights transported 5.6 million people, mostly concentrated between Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. About 2.88 million people travelled by water.
Guangdong in Southern China is the province that welcomed the most visitors, upwards of 23.21 million people, up 20.6% YoY. The province earned 1.14 million RMB (159,600 USD) in tourism income, up 25.6% YoY. Shanghai earned the most with 6.48 million visitors, generating 12.48 billion RMB (1.73 billion USD) during the holiday.
Guangdong is a popular destination, partially due to the many dragon boat races and other traditional folk activities across the province during the festival. Similarly, large-scale events like music festivals, concerts and sports matches boosted travel significantly. Coinciding with Children’s Day meant that theme parks were favoured this year, with bookings up 60% YoY. The yet-to-open Shanghai Legoland also saw its search volume grow tenfold compared to May. The mini travel boom during the Dragon Boat Festival showed vitality in consumer activity, especially around events and experiences.