Some 485 million people went on trips by train from September 30 to October 6, only 58 percent of the number who traveled on the National holiday last year, said China Railway. The average price of flight tickets during the holiday was down to 650 yuan (US$90), 12 percent lower than last year.
As sporadic COVID cases across China and zero-COVID policies dampened people’s enthusiasm to travel far, having fun in town became a popular alternative.
Data from online travel agency Trip.com suggested that people spent 30 percent more at local attractions.
A typical example is Beijing. Weary of the strict COVID prevention policy of the capital city, a good number of Beijingers chose to stay and explore the city, causing the prices of homestays and hotels to shoot up. Tujia, an Airbnb-like platform, said among its top ten destinations during the holiday, three were in suburban Beijing.
A medium hotel cost at least 1,000 yuan, and it was difficult to book one, those that charged over 10,000 yuan were also fully booked. A host in suburban Yanqing District said a room that usually costs 400 yuan was tagged 1,900 yuan during the holiday.
