今日上海
用火红的闲暇时光消暑 - 2024年07月30日
Beating heat with red-hot leisure time
Tourists enjoy their time at a water park in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, on July 22.
As summer mercury zooms up toward the 35-40+ C range, China's ocean parks, island destinations and water-based attractions are in hot demand, with online searches for such commercial leisure activities surging 55 percent in July from June, said Trip.com Group, China's largest online travel agency.
Even sales of park entry tickets and other activities have risen significantly nationwide. In fact, sales of ocean parks' admission tickets doubled in July from June as families traveled with their children, Trip.com found.
"Summer vacation is the peak period for 'parent-child consumption', and theme resorts such as ocean parks boast multiple attributes such as 'parent-child activities', study and research tours, and night tours, which are highly favored by 'parent-child families'," said Wang Yalei, a researcher at Trip.com.
"This summer, such resorts are expected to engage in fierce competition in the design of theme room types, service upgrades, prices and other dimensions to attract more parent-child visitors," Wang said.
For instance, Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park has upgraded park tours and interactive activities. Its night admission session has started operating daily in summer. From early July to late August, the park is organizing a water-splashing festival that will see various cartoon and game characters putting up performances and interacting with tourists.
On July 20, some 41,000 tourists visited the ocean park, up 65 percent year-on-year. The three major theme hotels that are affiliated with the ocean park were fully booked for 10 consecutive days, with over 90 percent of the visitors coming from places other than Shanghai, it said.
This summer, nearly half of tourists traveling domestically have been families traveling with their children, and the booking volumes of related travel products and hotels in July have jumped significantly over June, Trip.com said.
The average level of spending has also exceeded that of last year. A number of major scenic spots have upgraded their services and are offering complimentary admission tickets to attract more family travelers this summer, the online travel agency said.
For instance, a resort affiliated to Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park has designed six kinds of theme rooms for children, including rooms whose decorations depict dolphins, penguins and coral.
Water parks such as Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, the water amusement park at Water Cube in Beijing, and Qingdao Polar Ocean World in Qingdao, Shandong province, have emerged as hot spots this summer, according to Tuniu Corp, a Nanjing, Jiangsu province-based online travel agency.
"Ocean parks and water parks combine the features of cooling and fun, making them great places for urban residents to cool off on weekends and relax with their children," said Cai Miao, East China product manager of Tuniu.
Visitors watch an underwater show at an ocean park in Guiyang, Guizhou province, on July 16.
In addition, boating, river rafting, canoeing, kayaking and similar water-based activities have become popular this summer, especially at Gulong Gorge in Qingyuan, Guangdong province, the Wuyi Mountains in Fujian province and Thousand Islands Lake in Zhejiang province.
This year, the Luobei River in Guiding county, Guizhou province in Southwest China, officially restored its 12.5-kilometer-long whitewater rafting excursion area. The most thrilling river section has a drop of 10 meters, and it has attracted a large number of water enthusiasts, according to Guizhou Shanshui Qinghui Tourism Investment and Development Co Ltd.
In addition, some companies have organized drift-boating tours for their employees at such places to strengthen teamwork, Tuniu said.
Meanwhile, a number of domestic museums have announced extensions to their opening hours that now stretch into late evening. Nighttime visits to museums have become so popular among Chinese travelers this summer that securing admission tickets for some top-rated museums has become a bit of a challenge.
Extended opening hours will provide visitors with more choices and offer richer cultural services, industry experts observed.
This summer, the number of bookings for domestic museums has seen double-digit growth over last year, and booking volumes of admission tickets for museums have exceeded those of theme parks, ranking first among all types of scenic spots in China, said Trip.com.
From July to August next year, the Shanghai Museum will hold an exhibition of ancient Egyptian civilization. It is tipped to be the largest and highest-level exhibition of ancient Egyptian cultural relics outside Egypt.
As words spread about the coming bonanza, summer sales of admission tickets at other museums in Shanghai surged nearly 400 percent over last summer, Trip.com found.
Since July 19, the Shanghai Museum has been offering pet tickets, allowing travelers to bring along their cats for 10 special evening visits to the museum. Called "Meow Night", each of the 10 sessions will be on successive Saturdays from 6 pm to 9 pm. This initiative is the first of its kind among comprehensive museums globally.
All 10 sessions were sold out within one hour of the start of ticket sales, with many buyers hailing from places other than Shanghai. To facilitate travel of long-distance visitors and their pets, the Shanghai Museum has recommended a number of pet-friendly hotels within 10 kilometers of the museum.
A report on urban residents' summer consumption habits by the Ministry of Commerce showed that over 60 percent of consumption occurs after sunset. In summer, more domestic cities have been targeting the nighttime economy, launching diverse entertainment and other activities.
"The nighttime economy has helped enrich the appeal of cities and attracted a large number of visitors from other places, enhancing their competitiveness comprehensively," said Guan Lixin, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
"Given the fast pace of urban life, nighttime has become an important period for people to relax and socialize after work. Besides, the functions of cities have been gradually shifting from production to consumption, and the demand for services such as tourism, shopping and entertainment has been growing," Guan said.
Source: China Daily
