After COVID-19, the itch to travel is back and people are hitting the trail again

By Patrick Quinn / / Updated: 15:45,15-January-2023

After COVID-19, the itch to travel is back and people are hitting the trail again. People all across the country are hitting the trail again, much to the relief of travel agencies and the tourism industry. 

Evergreen Park a popular tourist destination in Haikou City which is expected to receive over 2.5 million travellers during the 40-day Spring Festival rush.

For the New Year's Day holiday 2023, a better-than-expected recovery injected much needed vitality into the tourism market. According to the online travel agency Trip.com nearly 60 percent of its customers purchased inter-provincial trips during the holiday, as opposed to 40 percent in the same period last year.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 52.71 million trips were made during the holiday, (approximately 43 percent of pre-pandemic levels in 2019), generating revenue of 26.52 billion yuan ($3.91 billion).

Trip.com reported that destinations with a mild climate and guaranteed sunshine were popular among travellers with flight bookings to Sanya, increasing by more than 10 percent. 

Aerial view of Phoenix Island, Sanya Bay where beach tourism activities getting back up and running.

Duty-free shopping across Hainan heats up

From Dec 31 to Jan 2, the average daily sales of duty-free products in Hainan reached 140 million yuan ($20.6 million). Over the holiday, approximately 43,000 people went duty-free shopping across the island purchasing roughly 476,000 duty-free products with an average spending of 9,816 yuan per person.

Inter-provincial travel looks set to continue trend for Spring Festival

China's online travel service provider Tuniu reported that inter-provincial travel is expected to be the dominant form of tourism consumption for the upcoming Spring Festival holiday this year, with inter-provincial travel orders accounting for nearly 70 percent of the total.

In order to fuel Hainan’s winter tourism recovery, Hainan Airlines plans to carry out more than 200 flights a day in the province.

More than 5.2 million passengers are expected to travel via two major airports in Hainan during the Spring Festival travel rush, (also known as “chunyun”) which started on Saturday and lasts for 40 days from Jan. 7 to Feb 15.

Haikou Meilan International Airport is expected to handle 19,400 flights, and its passenger throughput will hit over 2.5 million during the 40-day Spring Festival rush. Sanya Phoenix International Airport is expected to handle 16,000 flights and about 2.74 million passengers.

During the travel rush, Hainan Airlines plans to operate 26,000 domestic flights and 204 international flights. It expects to transport 3.6 million passengers, up 67 percent year on year, so make sure you book your tickets early. 

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