Summer tourism has doubled compared to 2019, and the hot weather has turned "special forces" into lying flat tours
The summer vacation combined with hot weather has continued the "hot" holiday consumer market of May Day and Dragon Boat Festival in July. According to data from Meituan and Dianping, domestic tourism consumption orders have doubled since the summer compared to the same period in 2019. From the perspective of consumption trends, the "7 pm" economy leads nighttime consumption, hotel "lying flat tours" are popular, and indoor water parks have become popular summer attractions.
"Play with water" demand soars
This summer, parent-child and inter provincial tourism have seen a significant recovery, driving the tourism market to continue heating up.
According to data from Meituan and Dianping, from July 1st to 10th, domestic tourism consumption orders doubled compared to the same period in 2019. In addition, Xi'an, Beijing, Chengdu, Nanjing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Changsha, Qingdao, Guangzhou, and Wuhan have become the top ten most popular summer destinations in China. The popular departure destinations are led by Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, and other places. Among them, the booking volume of parent-child related accommodation increased by 150% compared to 2019, and the proportion of inter provincial booking accommodation orders exceeded the same period in 2019.
Since the summer, the search volume for popular water activities such as "swimming", "drifting", and "water park" has increased significantly; Hotels with swimming pools have become the preferred choice for many consumers, with bookings on Meituan increasing by about 250% compared to the same period in 2019. Under the demand for summer vacation, the indoor water park, which combines both "water play" and "indoor" elements, is expected to become a hot selling item this summer. In the past month, the relevant strategy notes on Dianping have increased by 800% compared to the same period last year.
Since the summer, Chengdu Rongchuang Water World has consistently ranked first on the local "Summer Vacation List". Liu Ying, General Manager of Chengdu Rongchuang Water World, told First Financial that in the first two weeks of the summer, the passenger flow of Water World increased by 32% compared to daily passenger flow, with a daily average of 4500 people, an increase of 27% compared to the same period in the summer of 2022. At present, the summer has just begun, and based on past experience, it is expected that there will be a peak in passenger flow by the end of July.
Liu Ying introduced that summer tourists are mainly from the parent-child group, accounting for about 70% of the total tourists. Under the strong demand of users for gaming, the scenic area has extended the closing time from 18:00 to 21:00, and then adjusted it to 22:00.
In the eyes of practitioners, water tourism is the main trend for summer leisure consumption. "At present, many water parks in Chengdu are blooming. As far as we know, many new water parks have been opened in the Chengdu area this year. More and more people are pursuing water entertainment, which has also made the water friendly economy continue to be booming. In terms of water world consumption data, the most significant increase is the consumption of water equipment. Regardless of the form of water park projects, tourists cannot do without various water equipment when playing and entertaining."
The tourism market in coastal cities has also experienced a major explosion, with growth rates generally higher than the overall market. Taking Weihai as an example, summer tourism consumption orders have increased by over 500% compared to 2019, and high-speed rail tickets for "Beijing Weihai" and "Shanghai Weihai" are very scarce. In addition, accommodation in Qingdao, Dalian, Xiamen, Qinhuangdao, Haikou and other places has also seen a simultaneous increase in both quantity and price.
"Special Forces Travel" Becomes "Lie Flat Travel"
In hot weather, many tourists have formed a pattern of lying flat during the day and going out at night. On platforms such as Tiktok and Xiaohongshu, many tourists said that summer vacation in the daytime and eating at night have become new choices because of the hot weather.
According to data from Meituan and Dianping, since the summer, the search volume for keywords such as "night tours" and "night markets" has increased by about 80% compared to the same period last year, and Dianping's related strategy notes have increased by 160% year-on-year. The lifestyle service categories represented by dine in dining, leisure and entertainment have reached their peak consumption throughout the day at 7 pm. The top five cities with the highest nighttime consumption are Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. Shanghai Disney, Chongqing Monument to the people's Liberation, Changsha Wuyi Square, Chongqing Guanyinqiao, and Chengdu Chunxi Road have become the top five business districts with the hottest night consumption in China. Taking Guanyin Bridge in Chongqing as an example, nighttime consumption has increased by about 60% compared to the same period last year.
At 22:00 in the famous Taitung Pedestrian Street in Qingdao, the streets and alleys are still crowded with people. "The place where we ate skewers together and grilled seafood in those years is a popular choice for tourists on Dianping. Founder Wang Junjie told First Financial that compared to noon, summer night consumption has increased more significantly." At present, the flow of water during the day and night is almost 20-80, and the busiest time in the store is from 7pm to 11pm every night. When business is good at night, we can flip the table seven or eight times. "Wang Junjie also introduced that he can feel the recent increase of tourists from other places." Currently, 50% of the tourists from other places in the store are from other places, and in daily life, local customers are the main customers. The way to judge between out of town customers and local customers is to order dishes, with out of town tourists ordering seafood as the main dish, and local customers will order seafood. "Choose home cooked dishes."
The seafood restaurant owner in Dalian also stated that the recent golden business period is from 6pm to 10pm. Zhang Qihai, founder of Dalian Jinbi Glorious Barbecue Shop, told First Financial reporters that "there have been more parent-child consumers recently." In response to the increasing number of customers, Zhang Qihai began recruiting summer workers and hourly workers in June. The flagship store recruited 16 summer workers, and the Qinjian Street store recruited 10 summer workers. As the catering industry enters its peak season, seafood prices have also skyrocketed. Zhang Qihai stated that the cost price of seafood in Dalian has recently increased by more than 15%.
Since the summer, the number of catering stores on the platform that offer "late night snack" themed group buying has increased by 60% year-on-year, and the related order volume has increased by over 300%. The proportion of nighttime dine in consumption in Chengdu, Chongqing, and Changsha regions is over 55%, all exceeding the national market. Chongqing hotpot, Sichuan cuisine, and grilled skewers are all popular categories for dine in at night. Taking Chongqing hotpot as an example, over 70% of orders occur at night.
Li Jiwei, Vice President of Meituan Research Institute, said, "On the one hand, when going outdoors for fun, most people choose to avoid high-temperature periods, and many scenic spots have also introduced various night travel methods. On the other hand, more and more hotels and homestays have destination attributes, which can provide guests with rich and diverse experience projects."
Many consumers also experience the charm of the city through "night riding". The frequency of night riding on multiple slow moving routes in Beijing has significantly increased, such as the Liangmahe to Sanlitun route, where the turnover frequency of Meituan shared bicycles has doubled several times. Since June, the frequency of night riding has increased by nearly 30% compared to the previous month. There are multiple active nighttime consumption areas in Shanghai, and the demand for citizens to ride at night is also continuously increasing. According to Meituan data, over 60% of the night riding population consists of users born in the 1980s and 1990s, making them the main force for low-carbon night riding in Shanghai.
Li Jiwei stated that summer is an important window for observing the life service industry, as it serves as a bridge between the past and the future. This summer, economic highlights represented by "7 pm" have emerged frequently, and the domestic life service industry has continued its strong recovery in the first half of the year.
