Consumption push promises summer tourism boom

Fueled by rising consumption and attractive packages offered by tourism authorities, this summer promises to be a bumper season for tourism, industry insiders said on Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Transport, the number of railway passenger trips between July 1 and Aug 31, the duration of the summer vacation for students, is expected to reach 953 million, which will mark a year-on-year increase of 5.8 percent.

Qi Chunguang, vice-president of travel portal Tuniu, said the summer travel peak is expected much earlier this year. "In fact, our figures suggest it already started on June 28, instead of the usual second week of July," he said.

Group tour bookings on Tuniu have increased by more than 35 percent, Qi said. "The majority of them are long-duration domestic trips. Bookings for overseas destinations have surged 60 percent year-on-year," he added.

The growth has been spurred by the government's consumption policy, coupons issued by local tourism bureaus and discount tickets for high school graduates, Qi noted.

On Monday, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched a summer consumption program, which will promote around 39,000 activities, including drama appreciations, exhibitions and night tours, in July and August.

To further invigorate the tourism market, the government will also give consumption subsidies of over 570 million yuan ($80 million) to the public in the form of coupons and discounted combined packages.

Qi, from Tuniu, said that high school graduates, college students and families with children are major drivers of summer tourism consumption. A recent report by Tuniu mentioned that families with children account for over 40 percent of the current bookings made on the platform.

According to travel portal Qunar, most Chinese travelers are looking for destinations with a temperate climate, so places with daytime temperatures lower than 25 C are recording a surge in bookings.

The Bortala Mongolian autonomous prefecture in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Zhaotong and Chuxiong in Yunnan province and Ordos in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region are among the most popular domestic destinations to beat the heat, the travel portal said.

Beijing, Shanghai, the Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture in Xinjiang, Qingdao in Shandong province and Chengdu in Sichuan province are also attracting bookings because of their strong cultural vibes, modern cityscapes and mouthwatering food, the portal added.

Yue Meng, 48, a Beijing resident, said her daughter took the college entrance exam in June and the family planned a trip to Xinjiang to congratulate her.

"We will spend a week in Xinjiang starting on July 15, and visit attractions such as Sayram Lake and Nalati scenic area," Yue said, adding that her daughter is scheduled to join an educational tour group to Singapore in August.

In addition to domestic tourism, outbound travel has also logged robust growth.

According to travel agency Trip.com Group, visa applications on the platform have recorded double-digit growth.

Overseas destinations with shorter flight durations, such as Japan and South Korea, remain top choices for Chinese travelers this summer, while some faraway countries in Europe have also seen remarkable growth in bookings, the agency said.

Visa applications processed by Trip.com for Italy, Norway and Germany have increased by over 80 percent, it added.