Ctrip: 2014 Spring Weekend Road Trips – Holiday Apartments See Surge in Popularity

    Since late March, spring has arrived across China with flowers in full bloom. With rising temperatures, people who have endured the dullness of winter are eager to embark on spring road trips to nearby destinations. Reporters have noticed several trends in this year’s spring road trips: first, more people are traveling in groups — besides family outings, there has been a rapid increase in trips among couples, friends, and colleagues; second, road trips make full use of the weekend, typically heading to fresh-air destinations close to the city rather than crowded famous scenic spots; third, an increasing number of consumers are opting for more cost-effective holiday apartments instead of traditional hotels.

    To this end, reporters contacted Tujia.com to compile a few typical user experiences for everyone’s reference.

    Mr. Xue, who lives in Shanghai and works for a foreign company, drives his wife, child, and his beloved golden retriever to play around Taihu Lake every weekend. They drive to the Provence residential community by Taihu Lake and stay at a Tujia apartment there. There, the family goes cycling, strolls through the Mudu Ancient Town, or enjoys fresh farm-to-table dishes. In the evening, they take the golden retriever for a walk near the apartment, and before bed, warm up some milk for the child to drink and help them sleep peacefully.

    It is understood that there are quite a few tourists like Mr. Xue. They book holiday apartments in advance via mobile phones or the internet, escaping the polluted city for the fresh air outdoors on good weather days, traveling with their spouse, children, and pets, and enjoying the warm sunshine and fresh country air. This is the fashionable way to enjoy spring weekend road trips in 2014.

    With spring warming up, nearby travel characterized by family trips, independent travel, and road trips is rapidly heating up. Theme tours such as spring outings, flower viewing, strawberry picking, and first tea harvesting have led to extremely high demand for holiday apartment bookings. According to staff at Tujia.com, currently over 50% of urban residents are choosing road trips, with cities such as Qingdao, Yantai, and Weihai in the north, and Hangzhou, Xiamen, and Sanya in the south being particularly popular.

    The reason Qingdao is so popular, apart from its beer and seafood, is that the plum blossoms in Meiyuan are in full bloom this season. Yao Dong, a civil servant from Yantai, is especially skilled at planning itineraries, checking guides, and booking hotels. This weekend, he plans to gather a group of buddies to go to Tianheng Island in Jimo to eat seafood, and then hit a few great shots at Huashan International Golf Course. After going through several guides, Yao Dong decided to book a holiday apartment on Tujia.com.

Elegant Duplex Suite at Qingdao Zhengda Thumb Plaza:

http://www.tujia.com/qingdao_gongyu/laoshanqu_3289.htm