China’s three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday that concluded Saturday showed a noticeable revival in outbound travel, as evidenced by the increasing number of border crossings.
Even though the Dragon Boat Festival is a brief national holiday in the Chinese mainland, cross-border crossings touched 65% of the 2019 level, according to the National Immigration Administration.
Trip.com-owned platform Ctrip noted that the average cost for outbound travel was down during the Dragon Boat holiday even as bookings have surged. A one-way air ticket was 6% lower than during the May Day holiday and bookings were 12 times levels a year ago.
Flight orders were up four times over the three-day New Year’s Day holidays, according to Alibaba’s travel division Fliggy, indicating a significant uptick in travel demand.
Ctrip noted that Hong Kong, Bangkok, Macau, Tokyo and Singapore were the most popular destinations, with travelers spending an average of $415 per hotel booking.
Hong Kong was the most popular option for Chinese mainland travelers, with hotel orders from the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong increasing more than 18 times year-over-year.
Many travelers chose to take the high-speed rail to Hong Kong, with orders for high-speed rail on Ctrip’s platform rising by more than 60% compared to last month.
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