Chongqing - The Mid-Autumn Festival is here. Have you decided how to spend your holiday? According to data released by several travel platforms, Chinese tourists continue to choose local and surrounding trips as their first option to spend this year's Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. Due to the short holiday days, the "two-hour holiday circle" has become the primary choice in low-risk areas. While high-quality accommodation has become a popular choice for the three-day holiday market.

A revival of local tourism

During the past week, Chongqing scenic spot tickets and related travel products were ordered 2.3 times as many times as before the peak period of holiday orders, according to travel portal Fliggy. Booking cycles for travel products have shortened further, so consumers choose to book their trips as time approaches.

Holiday ticket bookings will typically be concentrated on the day before the holiday. There are still many tickets available for famous scenic spots such as Jinfo Mountain, Fairy Mountain, Nantian Lake, Chongqing Happy Valley, and Chongqing Sunac Resort during the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.

Moon-viewing night tours highlight cultural tourism consumption during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Consumers prefer night tourism projects that offer a chance to enjoy the moonlight, such as theme park night tours, boat tours, city tours, and light shows at night markets. According to the data of Fliggy, in the past week, the number of bookings for related commodities, such as Mid-Autumn Festival night tours, increased by 146% over the previous week. Many scenic spots in Chongqing offer a variety of night tours to welcome the festival.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chongqing Happy Valley will open its "night show" mode. In addition to opening several projects at night, tourists can also experience boutique performances such as the parade of Super Wings, the special effects drama The Storm Riders in the Mountain City, and the Parent-child interactive drama Go Green (Marine Directive G). Meixin Wine Town not only introduces the concept of long table banquets with mooncakes but also offers visitors an amazing view of the "super moon."

Zuo Wei, a researcher at the New Era Culture and Tourism Institute, predicted that in the domestic tourism market this Mid-Autumn Festival, local and surrounding travel would be more active, with people with children and young adults as the leading travel force. "Appreciating the moon," as a traditional cultural custom of the Mid-Autumn Festival, is expected to drive the popularity of night tour markets across the country.

High-quality accommodation is preferred

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, a "reunion" festival, tourists and citizens increasingly value accommodation experiences.

Fliggy data indicates that local travel times are becoming increasingly long, contributing to the popularity of high-rated star holiday hotels and parent-child hotels in the suburbs. During the Mid-Autumn Festival last week, bookings of high-rated star hotels increased by 1.3 times compared to the previous week, and the price per guest decreased slightly.

Tongcheng Travel reports that the number of mid-end and high-end hotels staying during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday increased by nearly 40% compared to regular times, and the number of tourists choosing high-end hotels doubled.

Some suburban hotels have sold out of certain types of rooms. For example, in Jinfo Mountain Scenic area, Jinyun Mountain Scenic area, and Fairy Mountain Scenic area, the surrounding high-rated star hotels and boutique homestays are in relatively tight supply, and some have only a few rooms left.

In addition, the hotels around the theme park are also popular.

For example, there is a 40% increase in hotel bookings two days before the Mid-Autumn Festival in Meixin Wine Town. People with children prefer homestays along the river, such as Hobbit's Family Homestay and Hotel California Lakeview Homestay. Group tourists prefer affordable homestays like Water Pipe Houses and Izakaya.

The core business area hosts some high-rated star hotels and boutique homestays that have opened affordable rooms, such as rooms with two super single or full beds that are offered for nearly half the price, which was thousands of yuan during the previous peak season. Due to this discount, tourists can experience Mid-Autumn Festival accommodation at a more affordable price.

(Chen Qian, as an intern, also contributed to the report.)