Travel costs decline as market enters off-peak period

Tourists take photos at a park in Chongqing in February. (HE PENGLEI/CHINA NEWS SERVICE)

The domestic tourism market has entered an off-peak period with declining prices of hotel rooms and flight tickets, providing travelers with the opportunity to take trips that cost less and feature smaller crowds.

After the Spring Festival holiday, the passenger flow of popular domestic tourist cities in various regions has gradually declined, and the prices of flights have dropped accordingly.

For instance, a one-way flight from Beijing to Chengdu, Sichuan province; Lanzhou, Gansu province; or Harbin, Heilongjiang province, all carry a price tag of around 200 yuan ($27.54), excluding airport construction fees and fuel costs. A one-way flight from Beijing to Haikou or Sanya, in the tropical island of Hainan province, is around 300 yuan, according to Qunar, a Beijing-based online travel agency.

The elderly who have flexible schedules often embark on trips during this period, and they prefer independent travel and choose destinations largely based on prices. In-depth tours of Yunnan province, Fujian province, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area have been favored by senior travelers, Qunar said.

"The tourism market has entered a long slack season and it will last until the next holiday, which is Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day in early April," said Xiao Peng, a Qunar researcher. "March will be a period that is inexpensive and not crowded, suitable for college students, senior travelers and office employees who take annual holidays off work to travel."

He added that during this period, small towns in China often become popular with tourists. For instance, Zibo in Shandong province and Tianshui in Gansu province became viral online in 2023 and 2024, respectively, with their unique features. Domestic scenic spots should provide good services during the off-peak season so that they can attract more travelers in the peak season.

Meanwhile, prices of international flights have also dropped significantly after the Spring Festival holiday. In late February, some international flights such as those connecting Tianjin with Osaka, Tokyo and Seoul dropped to 180 yuan for a one-way flight, according to Tianjin Airlines.

For long-haul flights that connect Tianjin with London or Sydney, the price could be as low as 530 yuan for a one-way flight, and the price reduction of those routes has been higher, the carrier said.

In addition, as ice and snow tourism is nearing its end, the price declines of flights to some ice and snow tourism destinations have been more significant. Flights from multiple domestic cities to the ice city of Harbin had 90 percent off from their original prices, industry players found.

From Feb 14 to Feb 28, the prices of hotels near some popular skiing resorts in Heilongjiang province, Jilin province and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, dropped 10 percent on average over the peak period of this skiing season. The price decline can be as high as 50 percent, according to Tongcheng Travel, a Suzhou, Jiangsu province-based online travel agency.

Despite the skiing season in China coming to an end, the search volume of products to some popular skiing resorts have been growing, Tongcheng Travel said.

"The consumer groups for skiing are relatively fixed, and their repurchasing rates have been high. Their preference of a certain skiing resort depends on multiple elements such as transportation, accommodation and catering services," said Cheng Xin, a Tongcheng researcher.

Feng, a senior skier from Beijing, who has been skiing for nearly 10 years, said he would take skiing trips several times a year.

"At the beginning of a skiing season, I usually go skiing in suburban Beijing for my regular training as it is easier and saves money. Then, I often go to some more advanced skiing resorts in Heilongjiang or Xinjiang to play and try different techniques," Feng said.

In the 2024-25 winter season, the number of passenger trips related to ice and snow tours in China is expected to reach 520 million, with revenue in the ice and snow leisure tourism market likely to exceed 630 billion yuan, the China Tourism Academy said.