May Day Holiday: Three ways Chinese youth are travelling now

During this year's May Day holiday, Ctrip reported a 68% year-on-year increase in hotel bookings and a 151% surge in scenic spot ticket bookings in county-level markets, outpacing the average national growth rate. Popular destinations for travel included Shangri-La in Yunnan, Dunhuang in Gansu, Yangshuo in Guangxi, and Anji in Zhejiang.

This holiday, instead of focusing solely on the destination, tourism is being driven by the emphasis on travel experiences, which is becoming the primary demand for young travellers.

The beautiful scenery of Chinese county towns such as Anji and Zhejiang

Here are three typical ways young people travel to county towns:

1. "Change of scenery, embrace urban trends":

Seeking a travel experience that is closer to nature yet still caters to current urban lifestyles. This may include attending music festivals, visiting coffee shops, and camping. For example, in Anji County, with a population of less than 600,000, there are over 300 coffee shops, with a coffee shop density per capita even exceeding that of Shanghai.

Images of urban trends in small villages. From left: Young campers in Liuzhou, Guangxi; Coffee shops in Anji County, Zhejiang; and the Tea-Horse music festival in Ya’an Sichuan. Source: RED

2."Self-driving for in-depth exploration, wandering like a local":

Travelling without overly specific plans, immersing oneself in the "local flavour" of county towns through immersive experiences.

Young Chinese on a roadtrip in Kaihua County, Zhejiang. Source: RED

3."Selecting a scenic spot to unwind":

Finding a place with beautiful scenery and few people to completely relax physically and mentally.

From left: Wuyi County in Jinhua, Zhejiang province; Liannan County in Guangdong Province; and Yichun County in Jiangxi Province. Source: RED

Tourists unwinding is the follow up to the trend we saw during this year's Spring Festival and Qingming holiday. Many young travellers who prefer to avoid crowded tourist destinations were increasingly talking about "reverse tourism" contrary to the trend of "special forces tourism" where people travel to as many touristic sites in as little time as possible, all while spending the least amount of money.

The Reverse Tourists seek a more comfortable travel experience by exploring second and third-tier cities that offer a sense of relaxation and local charm. The rapid development of county towns meets this demand, with delicious local snacks, convenient high-speed rail transportation, and the market expansion of mid-to-high-end hotels, which all contribute to attracting more visitors.