(Yicai Global) May 5 -- Camping under the stars became the holiday of choice for a growing number of Chinese tourists during the five-day Labor Day break that ended yesterday as the latest outbreaks of Covid-19 hamper tourism.

Bookings for camping trips over the public holiday tripled from the same period last year, according to online travel platform Qunar. And ticket sales at camping parks climbed over 40 percent. Camping trips increased sharply in eastern and southern China.

Campers sought to get closer to nature, seeking out forests and islands as opposed to pitching a tent in a park in a city, according to travel website Tongcheng Travel. Ferry ticket bookings from Shenzhen to Guishan Island, for instance, more than doubled from the week before, and ticket sales to other island destinations also surged.

Camping paraphernalia such as tents, backpacks, foldable tables and chairs sold out on Qunar the week before the holiday. And sales during the holiday tripled from the same period last year.

Searches for the word ‘camping’ on China’s biggest online travel agency Ctrip hit an all-time high on April 30, the first day of the holiday, a gain of 90 percent from a week earlier, it said.

Online searches of camping-related words on the country’s leading travel social networking site Mafengwo more than doubled from a week earlier. Camping was most popular in Guangzhou city in southern Guangdong province, southwestern Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality in southwest China.

Editor: Kim Taylor