Rural homestays popular for upcoming holiday

The rural homestays are gaining popularity among Chinese tourists for the upcoming Labor Day holiday, which will begin on April 30 and last till May 4, said Tujia, a Chinese short-term lodging rental platform.

Statistics from Tujia showed bookings for rural homestays accounted for 51 percent during the five-day holiday as of Friday, up 20 percentage points on a yearly basis, surpassing the orders for urban homestays for the first time.

In addition, the number of orders for homestays in the suburb of Beijing doubled during the holiday compared with same period of last year.

Hu Yang, senior vice-president of Tujia said tourists have shown surging demand for rural homestays, which have played a vital role in bolstering the recovery of the tourism industry and driving rural revitalization.

The average price of the homestays on Tujia has reached 1,362 yuan ($210.6) per night during the Labor Day holiday, and the bookings from post-1980s and post-1990s consumers took up more than 60 percent of the total rural homestay orders, according to Tujia. Moreover, people tend to travel with their family members, partners or friends.

Hu said the rural homestays have witnessed the fastest growth among all types of shared accommodation in the post-pandemic era. "Currently, the cross-provincial travels have been restricted and short-haul routes are favored by travelers, which will give a big boost to the development of rural homestays," he added.

Tujia said the rural homestays in Beijing, Chengdu, Xiamen, Shenzhen and Chongqing are favored by tourists, while the average price of rural homestays in Beijing has surpassed 2,000 yuan during the upcoming holiday.

fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn