CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- The two-month summer travel rush season has come to an end. Recently, Fliggy released the 2024 Summer Travel Report, revealing that both bookings per capita and spending per capita increased this summer compared to last year.

In particular, car rental and boat ticket bookings in Chongqing surged 82% and 184% year-on-year, respectively. Customized tour bookings increased over 4-fold year-on-year. Popular tourism-generating regions for Chongqing this summer included Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Fujian, Shandong and Beijing. Additionally, outbound travel bookings by Chongqing residents nearly doubled compared to last year.

"Since the beginning of summer, our scenic area has hosted various activities such as water music festivals and water sports meet, attracting over 200,000 tourists coming to relieve the heat," said a person in charge from Chongqing Fuling Mexin Wine Town, adding that with the ongoing high temperatures, the sale of heat-relief products such as beer and soft drinks in scenic areas has reached a peak.

It is learned that demand for quality travel experiences saw a significant rise this summer. According to the data from Fliggy, bookings for high-star hotels, package tours, and car rentals increased notably. Bookings for domestic package tours enjoyed a double-digit growth compared to last summer, and branded hotel bookings operating on Fliggy maintained steady growth, up about 30%. Domestic car rental bookings saw a robust increase of over 60%.

Travel destinations such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Xi'an, Shenzhen, Nanjing, and Wuhan topped the popularity list; lesser-known but affordable, uncrowded and easily accessible destinations, such as Deyang and Shuozhou, 1 to 3 hours' drive from provincial capitals Chengdu and Taiyuan, Haibei and Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures surrounding Qinghai Lake, Jingde Town, the city of porcelain, and Puyang, known as the "Hometown of Chinese Acrobatics" enjoyed the fastest growth.

Reflecting the trend, demand for self-driving tours was particularly strong this summer. Families commonly flew to a destination and then rented cars for their adventures, such as crossing Xinjiang to visit Altay, exploring forest landscapes in the Lesser Khingan Mountains, or driving along the Qinghai-Gansu loop. Car rental bookings in popular destinations like Aral, Heihe, and Bijie doubled year-over-year.

As summer drew to a close, the release of the game "Black Myth: Wukong" brought a surge of interest to shooting locations of game scenes famous for their ancient architecture, such as Datong Yungang Grottoes and Xuankong Temple, which are expected to see a massive influx of visitors. Fliggy's data shows that even before the game's breakout, Shanxi had stood out among other destinations, with ticket bookings to Shanxi attractions growing by more than 60% and car rental bookings increasing by over 1.3 times year-over-year this summer. (Translated by Jane, Fathom Language Limited)