Chinese youth choose travel instead of family gatherings

China’s nine-day Lunar New Year holiday, the longest ever, not only released pent-up travel demand but also showed the changing trends of young people. More and more people are skipping traditional reunions in their hometowns to travel. They choose small cities and towns, instead of crowded, bustling destinations, to better understand the lives of local people.

Leading this trend are generations born after the 1980s and 1990s. According to tourism platform Tuniu, they account for 64% of total visitors, becoming the main spending force and also the main planners of family trips during the Lunar New Year.

“The festive atmosphere has become one of the main driving forces of China’s domestic tourism market during the Lunar New Year,” said Ms. Ton Van Loi, Director of the Destination Research Institute of online travel platform Mafengwo.

She said destinations with traditional folk activities and cultural heritage are especially popular, reflecting the desire of tourists to both experience culture and enjoy the bustling festival atmosphere.

Fuzhou is a typical example of this trend when it first entered the top 5 destinations with the highest number of hotel bookings during the Lunar New Year on the travel platform Qunar, with the number of bookings increasing by more than 80% compared to last year.

A major attraction is the “youshen” (spirit parade), a local folk ritual that gives visitors a vivid glimpse into preserved festival traditions. Meanwhile, hotel bookings in the Chaoshan area of ​​Guangdong province increased by more than 70% over the same period.

Shantou, a small, festive city in Guangdong province, attracts tourists with its vibrant folk traditions. From the unique Yingge Dance to the famous tea culture and famous local beef dishes. This place is becoming one of this year’s outstanding surprise destinations.

Lexie, a girl of the generation born after the 1990s living in Shanghai, this change is quite special. This Lunar New Year, she left the cold and familiarity of Shanghai for a road trip along the south coast, visiting Shantou, Chaozhou, Quanzhou and Fuzhou.

Finding the authentic holiday atmosphere in small provinces that cannot be found in big cities is the main purpose of Lexie’s journey. She focuses on two experiences: immersing herself in Yingge Dance and enjoying local cuisine in Shantou, while enjoying the ancient, poetic streetscape and charm that she describes as “half bustling on earth, half peaceful in a fairyland” of Quanzhou. Chinese-style theme parks have also become another stage for immersive festival experiences.

Tourist interest in “Unique Henan: Land of Drama,” a giant immersive theater complex in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, and an amusement park themed Journey to the West in Huai’an, Jiangsu province (eastern China), more than doubled during the Lunar New Year compared to last year.

Experiencing a Chinese New Year is also becoming a growing trend among international tourists. Data from Fliggy shows that over the past two weeks, domestic flight bookings by foreign holidaymakers have quadrupled compared to the same period last year, with Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Beijing and Chengdu topping the list of popular entry points.

“Even small cities are welcoming more foreign tourists,” said Duong Han, a researcher at Qunar’s Big Data Research Institute. He also cited the destinations Jining and Rizhao in Shandong province (eastern China), Linzhi in the Tibet autonomous region (southwest China) and Yibin in Sichuan province. All recorded increased visitor numbers during the holiday season.