Xinjiang's Urumqi Is China's Hottest Travel Stop
Liao Shumin
DATE:  Mar 20 2020
/ SOURCE:  yicai
Xinjiang's Urumqi Is China's Hottest Travel Stop Xinjiang's Urumqi Is China's Hottest Travel Stop

(Yicai Global) March 20 -- As China gradually gains the upper hand in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the domestic tourism market is beginning to show signs of stirring again and last week's search volume for the coming May Day holiday increased by over three-quarters per month, with Urumqi, the capital of China's northwestern Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, becoming the most appealing destination, data from tourism product sales platform Qunar.Com show, Beijing Youth Daily reported today.

Xinjiang had reported no new Covid-19 cases for 31 straight days as of yesterday, and all previous confirmed cases have now recovered and left hospital. All scenic spots in the autonomous region have been fully reopened since March 19.

May Day is a public holiday in China that usually lasts from three to five days. It is also a small peak in the country's tourism market. Haikou and Sanya, on the tropical southern island province of Hainan, and Tianjin and Qingdao, both coastal cities in its north, have also become popular destinations.

Not only are tourists' travel expectations for the May Day holiday rising, but business travel to cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen is also reviving. The number of trips from March 9 to 13 increased by nearly 40 percent compared with that from March 2 to 6, of which the number booked 5-7 days in advance rose by 38 per month, while those booked more than seven days in advance rose by three-quarters, according to Beijing-based Qunar.

Lan Xiang, the e-travel agency's Vice President, was quoted by Beijing Youth Daily as saying that the return to a working passenger flow has basically been achieved. 

The cities with the largest increase in outbound passengers are Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Hangzhou -- all economically developed areas. The routes with the most increase are Guangzhou-Chengdu, Guangzhou-Hangzhou and Guangzhou-Shanghai, which are all business trunk lines. Among the outbound passengers, post-90s exhibit the biggest travel bulge. The proportion of post-80s travelers in Guangzhou and Shenzhen has also markedly climbed.

Editor: Ben Armour

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Keywords:   China,Tourism