The 2026 May Day holiday has concluded, with data from the Ministry of Transport showing that cross-regional passenger trips reached a record 1.52 billion during the period, a 4% increase year-on-year. However, this travel surge did not lead to a broad-based rise in consumption. While railway passenger volume climbed, civil aviation passenger traffic fell by approximately 7% to 10% compared to the previous year, and ticket revenue growth at traditional scenic spots was significantly lower than the overall increase in tourism revenue. In contrast, new tourism formats such as county-level tourism, immersive experiences, and event-based entertainment saw rapidly rising popularity.
Cross-referenced data from multiple platforms indicates that consumers still have strong travel intentions but are no longer making blind purchases just for "check-in" purposes. They are more willing to pay a premium for emotional experiences, while each spending decision has become more rational and discerning. The signals behind the data suggest that domestic cultural and tourism consumption is shifting from a focus on "availability" to "quality," moving from "volume growth" to "quality upgrade."
Railway Passenger Traffic Rises, Aviation Under Pressure This May Day holiday, railway transport emerged as the "winner" for cross-regional travel. According to Ministry of Transport data, railway trips alone reached 18.598 million on May 3, a 2.5% year-on-year increase. The continuous expansion of the high-speed rail network has effectively absorbed demand that previously flowed to air travel. Everbright Futures pointed out that high oil prices have pushed up the average ticket price including taxes for flights by about 13.9%, causing some price-sensitive travelers to switch to railways, driving increases in both railway passenger volume and fares.
The substitution effect of railways for aviation is particularly evident on medium-to-long-distance routes within 1,000 kilometers, which were traditionally profitable "cash cow" routes for airlines. However, the decline in civil aviation is not the whole picture. International routes performed relatively robustly. Data from TravelSky showed that bookings for flights from China to Southeast Asia during the holiday increased by over 26% year-on-year, with destinations like Europe and South Korea remaining popular.
Corresponding to the warming of outbound travel, inbound tourism also showed a trend of "mutual flow." Data from TONGCHENGTRAVEL indicated a significant increase in inbound tourist traffic to cities like Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Shanghai. The number of international visitors transiting through Hong Kong to destinations such as Sanya, Chengdu, Changsha, Wuhan, and Xi'an saw notable growth. It is clear that consumers' travel budgets have not disappeared but are being reallocated across different modes of transport and destinations.
Experience Economy Squeezes "Ticket Economy" If the divergence in transportation choices reflects consumers' careful calculation of "explicit costs," then changes in tourism consumption structure reflect the pursuit of "implicit value." A notable contrast emerged during this year's May Day period: while total national tourism revenue increased by 15.3% year-on-year, recovering to 118.7% of the 2019 level, ticket revenue growth for traditional 5A-level scenic spots was only 6.8%, far lower than the overall growth rate.
Where was the money spent? The answer points to "immersive experiences." Data from Ctrip Research Institute showed that "deep cultural tours" increased by 52.3% year-on-year, while domestic exhibition, performance, and event attendance grew by 30.6%. TONGCHENGTRAVEL also reported that city leagues like the "Su Super League" and "Yue Super League" significantly boosted hotel bookings. The "stub economy" effect was notable in popular "spectator tourism" destinations such as Nanjing, Shenzhen, and Suzhou.
High-quality supply was clearly visible during the holiday. NPC interactions at Zhengzhou Movie Town in Henan and immersive night tours at the Southern Song Dynasty Deshou Palace in Hangzhou brought ancient history to life. Meanwhile, relaxed experiences from short trips around cities were also highly sought after. TONGCHENGTRAVEL noted that the "1 to 3-hour travel circle" was the preferred choice, with bookings for rural homestays surging over 70% year-on-year and bookings for county-level destination travel products increasing by 128%.
Analysis suggests that cultural and tourism consumption is undergoing a profound transformation from simple scenic spot check-ins to immersive experiences. In the era of cloud consumption, platform-based price transparency has shattered information asymmetry, allowing consumers to pursue cost-effectiveness while also considering quality. The proportion of enjoyment-oriented consumption has significantly increased. Pursuing value for money does not simply mean reducing overall expenditure but rather precisely targeting and paying a premium for genuine emotional value, cultural resonance, and high-quality exclusive experiences. This "emotional necessity" is reshaping profit distribution within the industry.
From "Single Point Overcrowding" to "Region-Wide Diversion" Unlike previous holidays characterized by "overcrowding in hot cities and emptiness in cold areas," a new signal emerged this May Day: tourism popularity is "spilling over" from a few top-tier cities to a broader range of counties and third-tier cities. Tourist itineraries are also shifting from being dominated by a single city to "multi-city tours."
TONGCHENGTRAVEL reported that approximately 60% of travelers chose "city-hopping," visiting 2 to 3 different destinations in one trip. Hotel booking popularity for popular long-haul destinations increased over 40% year-on-year, while bookings for cultural tourism products rose over 80%. Guangzhou, benefiting from the overlap of sports events and the Canton Fair, saw nearly 70% year-on-year growth in cross-city hotel booking popularity, the highest increase among first-tier cities.
The performance of smaller cities was even more remarkable. "Dark horse" destinations like Luzhou, Zhongshan, Puer, and Kaifeng saw year-on-year increases in cross-city hotel booking popularity exceeding 50%, with Luzhou approaching 400% and Zhongshan nearly 200%. These cities offer rich and unique intangible cultural heritage experiences and deep-dive projects, aligning with tourists' pursuit of immersive culture. TONGCHENGTRAVEL specifically pointed out that "small airport cities" like Chifeng, Enshi, and Foshan have become new check-in choices due to convenient transportation and high cost-effectiveness.
Further analysis indicates that the integration of commercial, cultural, and tourism spaces顺应了体验消费升级的客观规律, with catering, retail, leisure entertainment, and history/culture deeply integrated within the same space, reconstructing composite leisure venues. This marks that integrated consumption has fully entered an irreversible period of rapid growth.
Looking ahead to the high-quality and sustainable development of cultural and tourism consumption, it is emphasized that the industry must focus on full-chain cost restructuring and experience function substitution. Regarding the deepening integration of culture, commerce, tourism, and sports, providing emotional value should be the core strategy for connecting with the main young consumer group, transforming cultural assets into experiential scenarios. There is also a need to guard against homogenization of formats and awkward cultural patchworks, maintaining a dynamic balance between preserving local cultural heritage and commercial vitality.
In terms of digital transformation, suggestions include leveraging cloud data to achieve operational intelligence and match community-based micro-demands. For service quality, integrating supply chains, reducing transaction costs, and infusing offline service scenarios with warmth and a sense of prestige can create vibrant, multi-format engines.
Regarding family travel, TONGCHENGTRAVEL data showed that driven by spring holiday policies in provinces like Liaoning, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Hunan, bookings for family-friendly hotel rooms increased nearly 50% year-on-year, with Dandong seeing an increase of over 120%.
The prominent performance of family travel and the silver economy reflects profound changes in the structure of cultural and tourism consumption, influenced by demographics, family concepts, and consumption attitudes. From a future market impact perspective, mass-market cultural and tourism products will face fierce competition, forcing the market to introduce personalized and quality products catering to "the very young and the old," such as family resort hotels and new elderly travel and wellness formats.
It is further emphasized that the current cultural and tourism consumption market needs to adapt to new consumption trends, create more attractive integrated consumption scenarios and products, promote the deep integration of culture, tourism, sports, and commerce, and effectively achieve the transformation from "traffic" to "retention."
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