Two days before the May Day holiday, the flow of people in many popular tourist cities and tourist attractions across the country continued to surge.

The number of tourists received in many places increased by double digits year-on-year

Data disclosed by cultural and tourism departments in many places show that the number of tourists received on the first and second day of the May Day holiday this year exceeded the same period last year.

Data released by the Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism shows that according to the modeling analysis of mobile phone signaling big data, on the second day of the May Day holiday, Hunan Province had 14.3986 million passengers, an increase of 33.88% year-on-year, of which 2.4225 million tourists from outside the province, accounting for 16.82%. On the first day of the May Day holiday, the number of passenger flows in Hunan Province was 9.9624 million, an increase of 31.40% year-on-year, of which 1.4826 million tourists from outside the province were 14.88%, accounting for 14.88%.

According to the news released by the Hubei Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, two days before the May Day holiday, Hubei A-level tourist attractions received a total of 7.7293 million tourists, an increase of 30.75% year-on-year. The average occupancy rate of star-rated hotels was 76.90% (number of rented rooms/number of rooms that can be rented), an increase of 5.49 percentage points from the average occupancy rate of star-rated hotels in 2024. Key scenic spots such as Donghu, Huanghelou, Wudang Mountain, and Sanxia Dam have ushered in a peak of passenger flow. More than 20 scenic spots in the province have achieved the maximum load capacity and implemented flow restrictions.

Data disclosed by the Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism show that as of 17:00 on May 1, the 905 A-level scenic spots included in the statistics in Sichuan Province received 5.1894 million tourists and ticket revenue of 43.6523 million yuan. Compared with the same caliber in the same period in 2024, the increase was 21.17% and 19.04% respectively.

Data disclosed by the Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism showed that the scenic spots and cultural museum venues with reservations reached 100% on May 1 are: Nanjing Museum, Presidential Palace Scenic Area and the Memorial Hall of Compatriots in the Nanjing Massacre of Japanese Invaders. On the first day of the holiday, the average occupancy rate of star-rated hotels and some brand hotels in Nanjing reached 91%. Among them, 12 hotels including Zijin Villa, International Conference Hotel, Shangri-La Hotel, Zifeng InterContinental Hotel, Central Hotel, Taihe Zijin Hotel, Jintailong Hotel, etc. are full of rooms.

Two days before the May Day holiday: traffic jams on the road, attractions are blocked

A netizen said on social platforms: "There are not many people on May Day, only '10 million' points."

Although reports from many online travel platforms show that the end of the May Day holiday is the peak of travel, and travel fares are relatively expensive, judging from the photos posted by netizens on social platforms, the traffic on May 2 is also considerable.

Meituan Travel Data shows that on the first day of the May Day holiday, the search popularity of "May Day Travel" increased by 160% year-on-year, but it also entered the peak of short-distance travel on May 2 and 3. Rural tours, taste bud tours, etc. will become new options to avoid crowded crowds.

The Paper noticed that two days before this year's May Day holiday, there was traffic jam on the road and people at the scenic spots were blocked.

Netizens called "persuading to leave".

An indoor museum can even only "see people's heads". Judging from the museum's live photos posted by many netizens, tourists "enclosed" the exhibits in the glass cabinet "three floors inside and three floors outside", and tourists who are far away can only see the "true appearance" of the exhibits from their raised mobile phones.

Tickets for tourist attractions in many places are sold out, and museums are over. It can be seen that the holiday will still be popular in the next few days, and many scenic spots have announced that tickets are sold out or that the number of reservations reaches the upper limit.

For example, the Jiuzhaigou Management Bureau announced on May 1 that as of 14:00 on May 1, 41,000 tickets were booked in Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area on May 3, reaching the maximum carrying capacity. Jiuzhaigou Management Bureau recommends that tourists who have not booked their tickets can choose to purchase tickets on other dates, or choose to visit surrounding scenic spots such as Shenxian Pond, Love Sea, Jiawuhai Panda Park, Jiuzhai Genting Tourism Resort, Chaimenguan, Shiwai Luoyi Jiuzhai Manor, Jiuzhai Huamei Scenic Area, etc.

The Maijishan Scenic Area Management Committee issued an announcement at 9:51 on May 1 that the tickets for the Maijishan Grottoes were sold out on May 1 and 2; the announcement at 17:25 on May 2 that the tickets for the Maijishan Grottoes were sold out on May 3.

In addition, a search by The Paper found that the tickets for the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Scenic Area on May 3 and 4 have been fully booked; many ticket packages for the Huangshan Scenic Area on May 3 and 4 have been sold out.

Tickets for many popular museums including the Palace Museum, Nanjing Museum, Hunan Provincial Museum, Shanghai Museum People's Square, Hubei Provincial Museum, Gansu Provincial Museum and other popular museums have been sold out as of May 5.

It is worth mentioning that "May Day" outbound travel has also continued the popularity of the Spring Festival and Qingming Festival holidays. Fliggy data shows that on the first day of the May Day holiday, the demand for outbound travel surged, among which the order volume of outbound travel tickets increased by more than 130%, and the order volume of international cruise goods increased by 149%. Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Thailand, South Korea, France, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are popular outbound travel destinations.

Xiao Peng, a researcher at Qunar Big Data Research Institute, said: "From the various data on Qunar platform, this year is expected to break the historical record of the 'hot May Day'. Ultra-large passenger flow poses severe challenges to the entire chain of transportation, scenic spots, services, etc. We have seen some transportation hubs launch a variety of innovative measures to alleviate congestion, and some scenic spots have joined forces with multiple departments to rectify the chaos such as "yin and yang menus" and forced consumption. Public holidays are not only a big test, but also an opportunity for industry iteration."