The upcoming Dragon Boat Festival holiday from June 22 to 24 is anticipated to continue the momentum of the previous May Day holiday and potentially witness the highest travel peak in the past five years, according to platforms including Fliggy and Ctrip based on search volume and advance bookings.

People celebrate Dragon Boat Festival. (Photo/The event organizer)

Recent data from Fliggy's Travel Vane for the Dragon Boat Festival Holiday reveals that travel reservations have been steadily increasing at a near-double rate compared to the previous week. Cross-provincial travel orders account for nearly 90% of the bookings. The peak period for medium- and long-distance tours during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday is approximately ten days earlier than last year and almost a week earlier than the previous New Year's Day holiday.

Due to the limited duration of the holiday, short-distance and local tours remain the popular choice for travelers. However, the availability of efficient high-speed rail routes and affordable airfares has expanded the definition of "nearby" destinations. Data from Qunar indicates that starting from Beijing, multiple cities within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region can be reached within an hour, while other cities such as Chaoyang in Liaoning Province, Datong and Yangquan in Shanxi Province, and Dezhou and Jinan in Shandong Province can be reached within two hours. From Chongqing, traveling to Guiyang in Guizhou Province takes only two hours and one minute.

Xiao Peng, a researcher at Qunar Big Data Research Institute, noted that train travel witnessed higher passenger flow during the May Day holiday. Airline ticket sales accelerated only when train supply was insufficient, and tickets were sold out. Train tickets for the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday went on sale on June 8, and experience suggests that airline ticket sales will increase after that date, with current prices relatively low. Furthermore, starting from June 5, the fuel surcharge has been reduced to 30/20 yuan, reducing travel costs.

Compared to the past three years, this year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday sees young travelers opting for longer travel distances and durations. There is also a growing trend towards more diverse and unique experiences.

One traveler named Mr. Xu, working in Shanghai, plans to embark on a "foodie" trip to Chongqing with his friends. They are researching and planning to visit more than 20 authentic local restaurants and markets. Mr. Xu mentioned that his colleagues and friends had formed different themed groups, such as museum tours, Hanfu (traditional Han Chinese clothing) tours, and "hotel relaxation" tours.

Many scenic areas in Chongqing have made preparations for receiving the upcoming tourists. The Ferris wheel, Eye of Rural Revitalization, located at the International Eco-agricultural Tourism Demonstration Zone in Pautong Village, Mexin Wine Town, will be open to tourists before the Dragon Boat Festival. The Ferris wheel, with the highest altitude in Chongqing, is at the top of a mountain nearly 700 meters above sea level. The Ferris wheel can accommodate 288 tourists simultaneously. On the opening day, villagers around the Ferris wheel can ride free of charge.

During the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, Mexin Wine Town will organize villagers from surrounding neighborhoods to carry out folk activities, dragon dance, and lion dance performances, as well as skill competitions such as sewing cloth soles of shoes, embroidering lotus sachets, and making rice dumplings and glutinous rice cakes. 

The Mexin Water Park. (Photo/Mexin Wine Town)

Mexin Water Park will be open to the public. In the hope of providing an opportunity for students to relax and fully enjoy the fun of playing with water in summer, Mexin Wine Town Scenic Area announced that participants in the college entrance examination and the senior high school entrance examination in 2023 are allowed to play at the water park for free with their admission cards for the examinations and ID cards until July 15.