The impact of the announced New Year's holiday on the travel market has been "immediate." By taking just one day off, people can create a six-day vacation, and the travel market has unexpectedly enjoyed a short golden week. Many travel agencies and online platforms have seen a significant increase in bookings compared to the same period last year. Industry insiders believe this phenomenon shows that the number of public holidays remains a key factor influencing the travel market, as many people still lack sufficient time for long-distance trips during regular days.
Surge in New Year’s bookings as holiday extension becomes the norm
The latest statistics from Ctrip show that after the announcement of next year’s New Year’s holiday, there was an explosive surge in long-distance domestic travel orders, especially to destinations such as Sanya, Lijiang, Guilin, Beijing, Xiamen, and Chengdu, where visitor numbers increased markedly. Holiday extension travel has become the mainstream, with over half of all domestic and outbound travel bookings related to the New Year’s holiday involving “extended holidays.” Among these, 4–5 day travel packages are the most popular, and December 28 to 30 mark the peak travel days.
For example, between December 10 and 20, more than 6,000 people booked Sanya free independent travel (FIT) or group tours online, a year-on-year increase of over 50%. On December 29 alone, Ctrip will organize nearly 1,000 travelers to Sanya. Currently, many customers are also booking Spring Festival FIT products early to secure preferential prices.
Due to the short adjustment period for the New Year’s holiday and the fact that domestic travel is in a transitional phase between low and peak seasons, there has been no significant price hike. Overall stable pricing is conducive to travel, with many routes remaining very affordable. For instance, a five-day Sanya FIT product departing from Hangzhou starts at less than 2,000 RMB, including round-trip airfare and four nights’ accommodation. Compared to the Spring Festival golden week, traveling during the New Year’s period and January offers better value, especially for popular outbound and island destinations, where savings can be as high as 30%–50%.
Sanya dominates domestically, while Thailand and South Korea are hot outbound choices
According to some travel agencies and online platforms, the majority of those extending their holidays are white-collar workers taking advantage of their year-end paid leave to travel and relax. Over half opt for independent travel, with online booking of flights, hotels, and FIT products becoming the norm. To adapt to changes in holiday schedules and passenger flow, travel agencies and platforms have urgently added resources and long-haul products. Highly flexible options such as 3–15 day FIT packages and even one-night stay options have become very popular.
According to the latest booking data from Ctrip, the most popular domestic New Year’s destinations are Sanya, Xiamen, Lijiang, Beijing, Guilin, Chengdu, Harbin, Kunming, and Xi'an. Sanya has a clear edge as the hottest destination. For outbound travel, Bangkok, Seoul, Phuket, Singapore, and Cambodia are among the top choices, with comprehensive urban destinations and islands being the most sought-after. Travel to Hong Kong and Macau remains the largest in scale, but this year, Thailand and South Korea have seen the most significant surges in popularity. For example, in January 2013, over 10,000 people signed up for Ctrip’s Thailand tours, with Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Koh Samui all fully booked. Korean travel is also in high demand, with large numbers of Chinese tourists visiting Gangwon Province for skiing or Seoul for sightseeing and shopping.
The unexpected popularity of New Year’s travel through holiday extension shows that the number of public holidays remains a key factor influencing the travel market. Many people simply don’t have enough time for long trips during normal periods and must rely on strategies like extending holidays to make travel possible.
Minor price hikes for flights and hotels during New Year’s are favorable for travel
According to some travel websites, domestic airfares during the New Year’s period have seen a slight overall increase compared to the days before and after, but the real price spikes will occur during the Spring Festival. Short-haul international flights have not seen significant fluctuations. For domestic routes, comparing December 24 (one week before New Year’s), December 31 (New Year’s Eve), and January 7 (one week after New Year’s), the lowest discounts for flights from Hangzhou to Sanya are 30%, 60%, and 40% respectively; for Hangzhou to Chengdu, they are 40%, 40%, and 30%.
During the New Year’s period, domestic hotel prices have shown a mixed trend compared to the same period last year. In tourist cities such as Chengdu, Hangzhou, Lijiang, and Xiamen, high-star hotels have seen relatively significant price increases, with Xiamen rising by nearly 15%. Economy hotels have seen varied changes, with Xiamen and Lijiang seeing maximum increases of around 10%, while Chengdu and Hangzhou have seen slight decreases of no more than 5%.
Notably, during the holiday, all-star categories of hotels in Sanya, a popular winter destination, have seen price decreases year-on-year, with high-star hotels experiencing the largest drops of around 15%.
Industry insiders remind that the peak for New Year’s travel bookings generally occurs three days before the holiday begins.