Convenient access, affordable hotels, travel policies, new experiences stoke expansion Tourists take balloon rides at a Danxia geopark in Zhangye, Gansu province, in July. (WANG JIANPING/FOR CHINA DAILY) A niche tourism segment has emerged in China this summer with a focus on small counties, in spite of the fiercely competitive nature of the market. Counties with convenient transportation and those that are close to scenic spots are expected to witness further growth in the tourism and accommodation markets, industry players said.
Hotel bookings in fourth- and fifth-tier cities and county-level areas grow the fastest among different tourist areas, according to Qunar, a Beijing-based online travel agency. In particular, high-end hotel bookings in small cities have jumped nearly 50 percent year-on-year this summer, and the most sought-after counties are in western China that are relatively cooler, Qunar found. "Libo, a scenic county in Guizhou province, Southwest China, renowned for its karst mountains, has seen hotel bookings surge more than seven times over last summer.
The growth rate tops the list nationwide," said Xiao Peng, a Qunar researcher. Besides Libo, some other counties in Guizhou, as well as counties in Qinghai and Gansu provinces, are most popular with local hotel bookings surging. The top five hotels with the highest booking volumes in Libo this summer are high-end hotels and hotel chains, with an average price of over 397 yuan ($55.
5) per night, the travel agen.