The Ctrip platform, China's larget travel agency, which is owned by travel service provider Trip.com, has released Chinese mainland outbound and domestic Dragon Boat festival trends.

The Dragon Boat festival is a national holiday that occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese lunisolar calendar.

According to Ctrip, outbound booking for the festival has increased more than 12-fold year-on-year.

The primary groups engaged in outbound travel from mainland China were individuals born after the 1980s (37%) and 1990s (36%) - generations who prefer leisurely holidays.

Hong Kong, Bangkok, Macau, Tokyo and Singapore were the most popular destinations, with the post-80s and post-90s cohorts spending an average of 2,981 yuan ($415) per hotel booking.

Hong Kong was the most popular option for Chinese mainland travellers, with hotel orders from the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong increasing more than 18-fold year-on-year.

Most millennials reportedly opted for destinations based on proximity, visa and flight convenience, with many selecting routes within a three-hour flight time. Shanghai-Osaka, Shanghai-Jeju Island, Beijing-Seoul and Beijing-Tokyo were among the most popular outbound routes.

The price of domestic hotels per night decreased compared to the May Day holiday. The city of Xi'an, known for the famous statues of the terracotta warriors depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, saw hotel prices fall by 29%, compared to May, with Nanjing and Guangzhou hotel prices down 22% and 19% respectively.

GlobalData’s travel and tourism analysis finds that in 2022, international departures from China grew by 8%, while international arrivals in China declined by 43%, partly due to ongoing pandemic restrictions.