Chinese tourists will be taking advantage of their time off work during Labor Day week by traveling to Southeast Asia. Research from DidaTravel, a global travel distribution company, found that Thailand was the most popular destination for mainland travelers with Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam all in the top ten.
Overseas travel by Chinese tourists during Labor Day week, which runs from April 29 until May 3, is expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels. DidaTravel found that international hotel bookings this year were up 18 percent when compared to the same period in 2019. The average hotel stay duration is two room nights.
“We are delighted to see the return of Chinese outbound travel during the May Day holidays. It is testament to the pent-up demand for international travel that exists in China,” Rikin Wu, DidaTravel’s CEO and Founder, stated. “We look forward to working closely with our partners worldwide and getting ready to welcome ever more Chinese travelers in the coming months and years.”
The rise in accommodation reservations unsurprisingly comes as outbound flight bookings from mainland China for the Labor Day week drastically picked up. Travelport found that these increased by 331 percent when compared to last year with most flights bound for Asia-Pacific cities.
Southeast Asia is the most popular destination for Chinese tourists during Labor Day week for a number of reasons. Rikin pointed out the wide range of attractions and experiences, from beautiful beaches and natural wonders to cultural landmarks and world-class shopping, as well as the region’s close proximity to China made it an ideal place to visit.
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Plans to revitalize tourism in southern Cebu being considered
The Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) wants to kickstart tourism in southern Cebu and has announced tentative plans to revamp the area. These include the redevelopment and reopening of several beach properties in and around Dalaguete.
Cebu Daily News reported that work on revamping Dalaguete Beach Park, formerly known as Argao Beach Club and Panagsama Beach could be begin as soon as December. TIEZA leadership said it’s exploring the possibility of allotting development funds to these redevelopment projects and is expecting to submit plans shortly.
A third site, a 12.2-hectare beach park in Barangay Casay that has been abandoned, may also be reopened. TIEZA owns the site, but it has not been active in several years.
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