This year's Mid-Autumn Festival coincides with the National Day, and many tourists spent the 13-day holiday "far away". Experience an intangible cultural heritage craft, learn to cook a special dish, relax in an ancient village, "leap" in a tropical rainforest... In-depth "slow travel" that has novel experiences without losing comfort is favored by more and more people.
Data from Fliggy shows that "tours to ancient villages" are very popular during the National Day holiday, and the number of users booking "ancient village"-related products on this platform has increased by more than 90% year-on-year. Some villages are popular, and many tourists visit them to experience the fun of "being a local".
Chen Min, a "post-90s" office worker from Guangxi, spent 10 days on a "slow tour" in Pingyao County, Jinzhong, Shanxi. The main itinerary was to visit the Pingyao International Film Exhibition, visit ancient temples, and "daze" in the villages. She chose a village B&B more than 20 kilometers away from Pingyao County, where she could climb mountains, admire the moon, pick fruits, and feel the local customs of the loess.
"Guests who come here generally yearn for the countryside and want to appreciate the beauty of a slow pace." The owner of this B&B said that the accommodation rooms are Loess Plateau-style rammed earth houses, and the restaurants and cafes are converted from cave dwellings. "There are still five days before the National Day, and the rooms have been booked."
Looking for "poetry" in distant places, some people choose to "go to the county" to hide in the city, while others choose to go abroad, and the popularity of outbound tourism has also increased significantly.
"This year, my friends and I spent 12 days on an in-depth trip to Thailand. We didn't rush to the scenic spots. We slept until we woke up naturally every day, visited local coffee shops and markets, and experienced various local special activities." Hu Xiaozhen, a "post-95s" tourist from Shanghai, told reporters.
Interest-driven tourism is becoming an important trend. Tourists no longer just look at the "must visit list", but first find a point of interest on social platforms and then plan the destination in reverse. Some people go to learn special crafts, some go after the sea to watch the sunrise, some people go shopping and explore stores as their main theme... The logic of travel has changed from "see what there is to see" to "I can go wherever I want to see."
Many travel agencies stated that the proportion of traditional large groups has continued to shrink in recent years, and orders for exquisite small groups of less than 10 people, semi-independent tours, and customized tours account for close to 50%. “When designing itineraries, we will also give tourists more free time based on their current travel preferences.” The person in charge of a chain travel agency in Shanxi said that during long-distance travel, “free time” has also become part of tourists’ expectations.
"The current popularity of in-depth 'slow travel' reflects tourists' rising demand for travel convenience and personal experience." Li Hong, a professor at the School of Tourism Science at Beijing International Studies University, said that this actually reflects the increasingly complete infrastructure of travel destinations and the increasingly diversified service products. (Reporter Ma Xiaojie)
