The summer visa application period is at its peak, and outbound travel is booming: the number of orders in many destinations during the Dragon Boat Festival has doubled year-on-year

Release time:Jun 02, 2024 14:04 PM

As the Dragon Boat Festival approaches, bookings for holiday-related travel products have reached a peak. A recent report released by a number of online travel platforms shows that although there is only a three-day holiday, it still cannot stop tourists from traveling abroad.

Order volume for many outbound travel destinations during Dragon Boat Festival doubled year-on-year

Currently, searches for outbound travel hotels on Ctrip’s platform have increased by 50% compared to the same period in 2019. Japan, Thailand, China’s Hong Kong and Macao regions, South Korea and Malaysia are popular destinations for outbound hotels. In addition, due to factors such as the proximity principle and currency exchange rate changes, Japan has become the most popular outbound destination for Dragon Boat Festival chartered tours, and the current booking volume has more than doubled compared to last year's Dragon Boat Festival.

Ms. Gong, who traveled to Japan last fall, told The Paper that since she had previously applied for a three-year visa, she planned to travel to Japan again during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. "Last time I took my elders with me during the Maple Leaf Season. This time I plan to go to Osaka by myself, especially to Universal Studios." Ms. Gong said that she expected that domestic travel during the Dragon Boat Festival would be quite crowded, coupled with the factor of "friendly exchange rate", You can also go "buy buy buy".

In addition, visa-free destinations that are closer are more popular. Mafengwo’s report shows that during this year’s Dragon Boat Festival, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Jeju Island in South Korea are the main destinations for Dragon Boat Festival overseas travel.

According to Ctrip data, the overall order volume during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday for visa-free countries has steadily increased compared with last year. For example, the volume of outbound travel orders to Malaysia increased by 54% year-on-year, and the year-on-year growth of orders in the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Tunisia, and Iran all exceeded 100%, which were 141%, 139%, 171%, and 100% respectively.

In addition, bookings from European visa-free countries have also seen significant growth. Among them, Serbia’s outbound travel orders increased by 55% year-on-year, and Bosnia and Herzegovina increased by 71% year-on-year.

Since the beginning of this year, China has become the Maldives’ largest source of tourists, and the locals have access to WeChat payment.

It is worth mentioning that so far, the number of outbound travel bookings by domestic tourists to the Maldives, a long-distance travel destination during this year’s Dragon Boat Festival holiday, has increased by 20% year-on-year.

According to data from the Maldives Tourism Authority, the Maldives will receive more than 1.8 million tourists in 2023, a record high. Chihuni Rashid, deputy director of the Maldives Tourism Authority, said in an interview with The Paper that in April this year alone, the number of Chinese tourists reached 16,427, a year-on-year increase of 21.6%, accounting for 9.8% of the total number of arrivals. In the first four months of this year, the total number of Chinese tourists entering the country reached 83,826, a year-on-year increase of 168.7%, accounting for 10.9% of the total arrivals. According to data from the Maldives Tourism Bureau, as of May 11 this year, the number of Chinese tourists reached 91,073, making China the Maldives' largest source of tourists.

“In the next few years, the Chinese market will become one of our most important markets.” Chihuni Rashid said, “As far as the Maldives is concerned, we hope that Chinese tourists can enjoy a wonderful and safe holiday in the Maldives as much as possible. "I think security has always been a concern for many Chinese tourists, so giving them a safe payment option is definitely our top priority."

On May 27, the Maldives Tourism Bureau and WeChat Pay signed a three-year cooperation memorandum at the 2024ITB Shanghai International Tourism Trade Expo. The two parties will jointly promote more merchants across the Maldives to access WeChat Pay to better serve China Provide tourists with a convenient payment experience. "This makes me feel more clearly the convenience of China's mobile payment." Qihuni Rashid said. The Maldives Tourism Authority expects to complete the access of more than 8,000 merchants across the country this year.

Summer visa processing reaches its peak, Shanghai opens additional night session for entry and exit permit processing

On the other hand, as the summer vacation approaches, visa processing has also begun to reach its peak.

“The number of people applying for visas suddenly increased in the second quarter!” Recently, a staff member of the visa business team of an online travel platform lamented that after the May Day holiday, the number of visa applications “increased steadily”, and most of the people who applied for visas It's "uncles and aunties."

As various favorable policies further stimulated cross-border travel, the number of visa applications showed significant growth in the second quarter.

Ctrip data shows that the number of visa applications doubled year-on-year in the second quarter of this year, achieving a 20% increase compared with 2019. With the end of the May Day holiday, the number of visa applications for summer travel has increased significantly. The number of people applying for summer visas after the holiday has doubled compared with before the May Day holiday.

The Paper noted that in response to people’s travel needs during the summer, the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau’s Exit-Entry Administration Bureau even opened its first night-time entry-exit permit application session this year.

According to the news released by the Shanghai Public Security exit-entry Administration on May 23, the number of entry and exit documents handled in the city has remained high since the beginning of this year, basically the same as that in the same period last year. Among them, the city's entry and exit reception hall handled a total of 33800 entry and exit certificates on May 18, a new high in a single day. In order to facilitate the general public, especially students who are studying for entry and exit certificates, and effectively alleviate the peak of handling summer permits, the Shanghai entry and exit reception Hall opened two additional night performances for entry and exit permits in May, which are 17:00-20:00 on May 24th and 17:00-20:00 on May 31st, respectively.

On May 18, live scenes at all entry-exit reception halls in Shanghai.

Ctrip data shows that compared with the same period last year, the proportion of summer visa applications for long-term countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and France jumped from 30% to 50%. It shows that tourists are enthusiastic about long-distance travel. So far, the number of visa applications for summer travel this year has increased 1.5 times compared with last year. Among them, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, South Korea, New Zealand, Spain, and Germany have become the top 10 most popular destinations for summer visa applications.

In addition, due to the recent impact of the yen exchange rate, the growth in Japan’s visa processing volume in the second quarter is particularly eye-catching. This is a five-fold increase compared with the same period in 2023, and a three-fold increase compared with 2019. At the same time, the proportion of Japan's five-year multiple-visa visas increased from 3% to 23%, reflecting tourists' preference for high-frequency long-term travel plans to Japan.

In fact, the demand for visas has been high this year.

Recently, Kishen Singh, chief operating officer of visa service provider VFS Global in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Mongolia, said in an interview with The Paper that as of April this year, the number of applications processed by VFS’s visa center in China was 73% of the pre-epidemic level. , it is expected that the number of applications in 2024 will recover to 70% of the total in 2019.

KishenSingh pointed out that the peak season for visa applications began in April. Canada, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States are major destinations popular with Chinese tourists. "The demand for Schengen visas has always been high, and Canada, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States are still popular countries." KishenSingh said, "From our statistics, between January and April 2024, the number of visa applications in the United Kingdom and Canada The recoveries were 98% and 92% respectively, which have been consistent with the same period in 2019, while Germany has exceeded the level of the same period by 16%.”

KishenSingh said that applying for a visa to a popular country during the peak tourist season may encounter limited appointment times and long processing times. Given that pent-up travel demand is set to recover strongly this year, everyone is strongly encouraged to plan early and apply in advance. KishenSingh pointed out that most countries currently accept visa applications 90 days in advance, and Schengen visas can be applied for 6 months in advance.

The summer visa application period is at its peak, and outbound travel is booming: the number of orders in many destinations during the Dragon Boat Festival has doubled year-on-year

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