During the National Day holiday, the enthusiasm for tourism consumption in various places is high, and the demand for entertainment and leisure continues to heat up. On October 6, Meituan released the "National Day" Golden Week consumption data, showing that the national in-store consumption of life services increased by 41.2% year-on-year, and the consumption scale of Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Shenzhen and Chongqing ranked among the top five in the country. Among them, the average daily consumption of tourists increased by 69.6% year-on-year compared with the previous year's holiday, and the top five provinces in terms of accommodation (including hotels and homestays) were Guangdong Province, Shandong Province, Sichuan Province, Jiangsu Province and Henan Province. The top five popular scenic spots on the National Day are, Taishan Scenic Area in Tai'an City, Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing City, Wansui Mountain Martial Arts City in Kaifeng City, Xi'an City Wall in Xi'an City, and Qianlingshan Park in Guiyang City. In addition, new cultural and tourism activities such as study tours related to cultural monuments and Hanfu travel photography are loved by young people, and traditional cultural themes have become a popular trend in this year's National Day travel.
Traditional cultural tourism is hot, and the related scenic spots of "Black Myth: Wukong" are popular
With the explosion of the game "Black Myth: Wukong", study tours related to traditional culture and cultural monuments have become one of the popular choices for this year's National Day. According to Meituan data, four days before the National Day holiday, the search popularity of "ancient temples" increased by 126% month-on-month, and scenic spots related to "cultural monuments" and "exhibition halls" became the most popular scenic spots during the holiday in addition to natural landscapes.
Shanxi is the province with the most ancient architectural relics in the country, and this holiday, "follow the black Wukong to visit Shanxi" has become a popular way to play and become a hot topic on social media. At the end of September, Shanxi Cultural Tourism joined hands with Dianping to launch the online and offline activity of "Must-Play Shanxi Good Scenery", where tourists only need to follow the "Must-Play List" to check in local must-play places and share their play evaluations, and they will have the opportunity to get national tide cultural and creative gifts such as "Shanxi Customs Clearance Documents". Meituan data shows that four days before the National Day holiday, the user rate of the platform participating in the event doubled compared with the pre-holiday period. In addition, since the National Day holiday, the number of online views of 29 destinations on the "must-play list" in Shanxi Province has increased by 4 times month-on-month. Among the destinations on the list, Shanxi's Yingxian Wooden Tower, Yungang Grottoes, Xiaoxitian, Hanging Temple, Stork Tower Scenic Area and other game filming locations are the most popular, among which the search popularity of Shanxi Xiaoxitian has increased by nearly 5 times compared with the same period last year.
▲Wooden tower in Yingxian County, Shanxi, picture source: Dianping notes
During the National Day holiday, the wooden tower scenic spot in Yingxian County ushered in the peak of passenger flow. According to the relevant person in charge of the scenic spot, during the National Day holiday, in order to comprehensively improve the level of service and security, the scenic spot has introduced a series of heart-warming measures, including a new Wukong sculpture for tourists to check in and take pictures, a live-action version of Wukong to check in, and a "dialogue with the ancients under the thousand-year-old wooden tower", leading tourists to have novel interactive experiences and ancient style photos.
In the first five days of the National Day holiday, the scenic spot received a total of 191813 tourists, an increase of 128.66% over the same period last year. "More than 87% of tourists from outside Shanxi Province during the holidays, in addition, there are many foreign tourists who follow the Black Wukong game to check in traditional Chinese ancient buildings."
Outside of Shanxi, traditional cultural tourism destinations such as Xi'an in Shaanxi, Qufu in Shandong, Kaifeng and Luoyang in Henan, Lanzhou and Dunhuang in Gansu continue to heat up this National Day holiday.
In Xi'an, wearing Hanfu to take photos in ancient scenic spots has become a popular choice for young people to travel during the National Day holiday. Some local homestay businesses are also following the trend, offering free hanfu makeup experience while receiving tourists to stay. "We provide a beautiful Hanfu experience, young tourists are consulted by phone before check-in, and most rooms are fully booked in advance." A B&B merchant in Xi'an said. In addition, there are many local homestays that combine Tang style aesthetics with room design, featuring "Han and Tang style" to attract tourists.
Popular scenic spots are still "people from the crowd", and the post-00s prefer in-depth tours of the county
During this year's National Day holiday, most of the popular scenic spots began to welcome the first batch of tourists from September 29. With the opening of the bullet train, "Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area" has become a popular tourist destination during the holiday, and the scenic spot ushered in the peak of passenger flow, from October 2 to October 5, tickets were sold out for four consecutive days. As of October 6, the number of searches for hotels in Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area on the Meituan App increased by nearly 50 times compared to the same period last year.
In addition, the radiation effect of Jiuzhaigou tourism fever is significant, driving the popularity of Siguniang Mountain Scenic Area and Huanglong National Key Scenic Area to increase significantly. According to Meituan data, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, where Jiuzhaigou is located, saw a growth rate of more than 81% in accommodation bookings during the National Day. In addition to tourists from the southwest region, tourists from Beijing, Xi'an, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai and other places have become the main source of tourists from other places in Jiuzhaigou.
▲Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area on National Day, picture source: Dianping notes
In the era of in-depth tourism, young tourists want to have a different time than before. From big cities to small cities, follow the designated routes of traditional culture, and experience a differentiated lifestyle, so that the once niche cities have also been on the National Day tourism hot list. Judging from the number of homestay orders in the first four days of the National Day holiday, the popularity of homestays in counties such as Guilin Yangshuo, Huizhou Huidong, Shantou Nanao, Fuzhou Pingtan, Zhangzhou Dongshan, and Yanbian Antu ranks among the top in the country. Bayingolin Mongolia Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang has become a dark horse booking destination for National Day accommodation, and three days before the National Day, the search volume of "Yuli County Hotel" in Bazhou increased by 311% year-on-year, the search volume of "Bohu County Hotel" increased by 263%, and the search volume of "Korla Tourist Attraction" increased by 484%. At the same time, tourists head deeper into the desert. In the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang, the Tarim River flows slowly, where the mysterious Luobu people fish in small boats. The search volume for "Luobu village" increased by nearly 60%.
With the popularity of county tourism and niche destinations, young people's demand for in-depth tours has gradually increased, in Meituan's "Young People's Travel Groups" recommendation page, see the elephant Songkran carnival, herdsmen experience group, Tibetan travel photography, intangible cultural heritage art group and other novel experience tour groups, only need to book one day in advance, 15 people can form a group, the price is more than 1,000 yuan is very cost-effective, this year's National Day is widely loved by young consumers aged 20-25.
Visiting parks, shopping for peripherals, health bureaus..."new 5A scenic spots" queue up
Theme parks, zoos, and parent-child parks are still popular choices for tourists in the province. According to Meituan, Universal Beijing Resort and Shanghai Disney Resort are still the most popular theme parks. Nanjing Hongshan Zoo has become the most popular zoo, and the night tour activities launched during the National Day are very popular with the public. The Internet celebrity of Hongshan Zoo, the surrounding area of the white-faced monk-faced monkey "Du Du" is particularly out of the circle, which makes tourists love it. According to Dianping's notes, the recommended notes and comments on cultural and creative products of scenic spots during the National Day increased by nearly 80%, among which Xi'an Meat Sandwich Cultural and Creative and Shanxi Knife Cut Noodles Cultural and Creative caused heated discussions due to their full sense of ceremony, and the products were even more difficult to find.
▲Nanjing Hongshan Zoo Internet celebrity "Du Du" check-in point, picture source: Dianping notes
In addition to the regular popular scenic spots, some local entertainment projects such as foot massage and health centers, livehouses, art exhibitions, bathing centers, etc., are called "new 5A scenic spots" by young tourists, and have become new destinations for tourist check-ins. Meituan data shows that during the holiday, the search volume of bathing centers increased by 230% year-on-year, and consumer reviews and notes related to foot massage increased by 88.5% compared with the same period last year, and Changsha, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Wuhan became the cities with the highest search volume for foot massage during the National Day. During the National Day, the golden impression located near Changsha Tianxin Pavilion was praised by netizens as a must-see 5A scenic spot in Changsha, and young tourists lined up from 19 o'clock to eliminate the fatigue of playing, massaging and recuperating while tasting food, adding a comfortable touch to the trip.
The "taste bud tour" has been advanced, and the food market has become a check-in place for tourists
Meituan data shows that in the first five days of the National Day, the average daily consumption of dine-in food and beverage increased by 33.4% compared with the 2023 National Day holiday, and in terms of consumption periods, night consumption increased by 44.8 percentage points compared with the 2023 holiday. In the catering scene, tourists' consumption increased by more than 75% compared with the 2023 holiday, and night market searches increased by 170.3% compared with the 2023 holiday, becoming the first popular search term near the holiday scenic spot this year. According to the data, consumers aged 20-30 prefer to check in food markets and food night markets when traveling, and some cities have also joined forces with platforms to create new consumption formats such as food markets online and offline. At Taikoo Hui in Guangzhou, a "Black Pearl Tide Food Market" will be open from October 1 to October 3, bringing together 12 black pearl restaurants in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, providing a good place for citizens and tourists to taste the feast of local food during the National Day holiday.
▲Tourists check in to the Black Pearl Tide Food Market, photo: Xie Changhao
When the National Day meets the opening of fishing in the East China Sea, going to Zhoushan, Ningbo, Taizhou and Wenzhou to have a "seafood taste bud tour" has become a new trend, and freshness has become a new pursuit for diners. According to Dianping data, during the National Day, the search volume of keywords such as "fishing village", "island" and "seafood" increased by more than 20% week-on-week, and Ningbo became one of the most popular food cities. Ninghai Restaurant, a must-eat restaurant located near Tianyi Pavilion, is a 32-year-old restaurant, which is included in the Dianping as the first restaurant in Ningbo seafood check-in, according to the person in charge of the store, during the National Day every day at 11 noon and 16 o'clock in the afternoon, the average waiting time during peak hours is about 2 hours, but many tourists and repeat customers are still willing to take the number and wait to taste the fresh seafood in the store, of which the secret eighteen chops are a must-order for diners, and the sales of this signature dish have increased by more than three times compared with the pre-holiday period.
According to the analysis of researchers from Meituan Research Institute, the passenger flow during the National Day in 2024 will be mainly concentrated in natural landscape scenic spots, accounting for 30.4%, among which the most popular scenic spots for female tourists are natural landscapes, cultural monuments, and exhibition halls, and the favored scenic spots for Generation Z tourists (post-95s) are natural landscapes, cultural monuments, and exhibition halls, while the first choice for middle-aged and elderly tourists is natural landscape scenic spots. During the Golden Week, the in-depth cross-border cooperation between local entertainment, retail, food and scenic spots formed a new model, and the cooperation of multiple business formats drove consumption of all ages, showing a trend of consumption recovery where one plus one is greater than two.