Bookings for dining and travel up as holiday approaches
Shanghai's tourism and catering market has shown strong momentum and vitality ahead of the upcoming May Day holiday based on bookings.
Hotpot chain Haidilao said on Monday that more than 100,000 tables at its 1,300-plus outlets nationwide had been reserved as of Sunday and the figure was still growing.
To prepare for the holiday market, it has launched several new dishes to offer diners a refreshing spring flavor.
These include a package of fungus, peach-flavored yogurt, and a mousse cake featuring popular anime series "Chibi Maruko-chan."
Paigu niangao, or pork chops with rice cakes, a signature Shanghai dish cuisine, has also been added to the menu.
Camping site diners sit among the trees.
Venues have also been refreshed.
In Songjiang District, a traditional dining venue has been reshaped and replaced by tents.
The forest-like environment creates a holiday atmosphere and is a popular option.
"The camping site can accommodate more than 100 diners at a time, and there are no vacancies for the first day of the holiday," said Xue Yongfang, head of the Haidilao camping site.
At the site, people can also play frisbee and badminton.
"The majority of those making reservations are families with children and the young generation," said Xue.
At Joy City in Jing'an District, the Starry Sky Bubble House under the iconic ferris wheel has become a new popular dining spot for the young generation.
New desserts have been launched to tempt diners.
Shanghai Spring Tour said the number of outbound travelers during the holiday had surged more than 300 percent from the same period last year based on its statistics, and the number of long-distance European tour groups had been equal to that of 2019.
The inbound tourism market has witnessed robust growth as well.
English speaking tour guide Chen Junjun has received foreign tour groups from France, Hungary and Vietnam since the Spring Festival and she will welcome a tour group from Vietnam to guide them in Shanghai and Zhouzhuang Water Town during the holiday.
"This holiday, Chinese tourists are traveling farther, while more foreign travelers are coming to China," said Chen.
China's multi-brand hotel operator Huazhu Group said bookings in third-and-fourth-tier cities such as Jingdezhen, Hohhot, Shantou and Zhongwei had grown over 10 percentage points for the holiday compared with last year.
People are pursuing more in-depth travel experiences during the holiday with trips lasting three days or more accounting for 23 percent of the total, it said.
A group tour makes its way along the Bund.
