Jilin’s tourism market booms during holiday

This year, the Mid-Autumn Day holiday (October 4) rarely coincided with the National-Day Holiday (October1-7), bringing the total number of holiday days to eight.

The unusually long holiday was a boon to Jilin’s tourism market with visitors swarming into its scenic areas.

A sample survey found that the province received 15.58 million visitors and earned 10.36 billion yuan in tourism revenue during the holiday, an increase of 31.94 percent and 37.36 percent respectively year on year. Per capita spending amounted to roughly 393.64 yuan.

Visitors from Jilin and its neighboring provinces constitute the bulk of domestic visitors to Jilin.

Regarding ways of travel, DIY self-driving tours were most popular, with 85 percent of the visitors choosing this mode of travel. Meanwhile, travelling with family members, relatives and friends also picked up during the holiday.

Per capita stay rose to 2.48 in number, an increase of 0.81 percent from last year, thanks to an additional holiday day. Long-distance transportation fee (18.9%), accommodation (19.2%) and dining (19.4%) are the primary items on the spending list.

Tourism authorities across Jilin staged a series of colorful and strongly distinctive festivities that accentuate its pleasant climate. These activities were effective in encouraging tourism spending across the board.

Changchun Film Century City had activities to entertain visitors day and night the entire eight-day holiday.

Changchun Puppet Manchurian Palace Museum held two exhibitions on the seals of Qing Dynasty emperors and empresses and on the old photos of Qing Dynasty’s last emperor in Beijing and Tianjin respectively.

Changchun World Sculpture Park held the Second Exhibition on Works of Young Sculpturers of Contemporary China, the Second China International Mobile Exhibition, an exhibition of Ye Yushan’s sculptures and the Second Jilin Sculpture Exhibition.

Changchun Guandong Culture Park organized an activity featuring its hot spring resources.

Qingshan Mountain Red Leaves Festival in Jilin City also attracted a large number of family holidaymakers, outdoor enthusiasts and photography lovers.

Yanji City held a thematic carnival, Dunhua City hosted the 2017 Yanbian Culture, Tourism, Art Festival and Dunhua Yangko and Folk Customs Tourism Festival, Hunchun City held a star-studded concert, Longjing held a festival highlighting Korean farming culture, and Tumen City promoted flower appreciation on Riguang Mountain.

Sight-seeing, vacation and leisure tours which revolve around Jilin’s rural tourism resources, culture, folk customs, red tourism and hot spring resources were featured to cater to the spending habits of visitors during the annual Golden Week.

Rural tourism delivered brilliant results. Big crowds of visitors were seen at suburban and rural tourist areas. Happy Farmhouses across Jilin came up with new ways to attract local citizens and tourists like fruit and vegetable picking, flower appreciation, fishing and parents-children physical exercises.

Country-style meals, farm work, rural opera performance and overnight stay at a Happy Farmhouse were gaining popularity among urban youths.

A 350-mu out-of-season rape flower sea close by the Dudai River in Shuangyang, Changchun,  the grape picking and wine making at Jinderui Ecological Park, fishing and horse-riding at Baoyuan Ecological Park, and the lamb leg roasting, earth kiln experience and firewood-stewed dishes at Shengze Countryside House Music Barbecue were all rather popular among tourists.

According to incomplete statistics, rural tourism attracted 3.65 million visitors during the holiday, up 37.89 percent year on year. The revenue it generated amounted to 1.452 billion yuan, up 41.52 percent year on year.

Tours featuring culture, folk customs, red tourism and hot springs all yielded fruitful results.

In addition to free admission during the holiday, Changchun Confucius Culture Park also handed out books on Chinese culture to local citizens and held related lectures.

Inter-city trains travelled more frequently during the holiday to facilitate autumn outings to scenic areas like Songhua River and Yanbian Fangchuang.

Red tourism spots also found favor with visitors. The Secret Camping Site of Yang Jingyu in Huadian City received nearly 6,000 visitors, up 28 percent year on year.

As people are paying higher attention to keeping fit, Shennong Mansion Hot Spring Resort received 20,000 visitors, and Guoxin Nanshan Mountain Hot Spring Resort close to 10,000 during the holiday.

To popularize Jilin’s tourism brand, the province’s tourism authorities have adopted a two-pronged approach of media publicity and sales promotion outside Jilin to present its tourism image in an all-round way.

Initiated by Jilin’s tourism authorities, an array of new media was in place to promote the“Travel to Jilin”public account on Toutiao and WeChat. The account, with a wealth of information about travelling around the province, has contributed to a rise in Jilin’s appeal as a tourist destination during the holiday.

CCTV aired a program on travelling to Jilin’s iconic scenic area Changbai Mountain during the holiday, which has helped raise the mountain’s brand image and reputation.

Jilin’s tourism authorities also organized promotional events in Zhejiang in September in order to attract visitors from the Yangtze River Delta. A sample survey found that visitors from Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shanghai accounted for 6.6 percent of all those visiting Jilin during the holiday, an increase of almost one percentage point from last year.

Travel agencies, A- to AAAAA-rated scenic areas and star-rated hotels were subjected to inspections to ensure travel safety and market order prior to the holiday. Four inspection teams led by officials of Jilin Provincial Tourism Development Committee set to inspect in different localities of the province on September 18 and gave instructions on problem solving.

Meanwhile, rules and regulations on travel safety were strictly implemented, shift work was intensified, and tourists’complaints were handled more efficiently to ensure a good market order during the holiday.

Altogether 10 complaints were made via the 12301 hotline with four against travel agencies, four against scenic areas and two against hotels and restaurants. The complaints, involving 32 people suspected of accountability, were all properly handled.