Travelers' enthusiasm outweighs torrid weather

Li Xueying had just consumed her third bottle of water when the clock struck noon.

She was traveling with her 8-year-old son in Beijing, one of the hottest — both literally and figuratively — travel destinations this summer, drawing myriad visitors despite persistent high temperatures scorching the city.

"Beijing is our first stop for summer vacation. Then we're going to visit Xi'an in the middle of August and Gansu province at the end of that month," said the 38-year-old from Chongqing, who planned her annual leave carefully to ensure that her son has a holiday that is both fun and educational. "I want him to learn about China's beautiful landscapes and splendid culture, though it's really blistering hot."

Li is not alone. Tourism insiders and platforms said that this year's summer tourism is booming amid the heat.

According to the travel portal Trip.com Group, as of July 13, transportation and accommodation bookings and ticket sales for attractions on its platform have all outperformed those seen during the same period in 2019, before COVID-19 hit. It said that Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, are the top three destinations for its users.

It also reported that bookings for family trips and educational trips are neck and neck on its platform. As of July 12, orders for family trips were up 45 percent compared with the same period in 2019.

Another travel portal, Ly.com, said that searches for educational trips on its platform in the first two weeks of this month are so far 203 percent higher than in all of June, and searches for family trips were up 162 percent during the same period.

Hotel rooms and homestays are also seeing a rise in bookings. The homestay operating and booking platform Tujia said that so far this month, bookings have doubled compared with early July 2019.

In particular, accommodations in areas with milder climates, lower temperatures and coastal views have seen a surge in bookings, Tujia said. For example, in Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which features exotic cultures and breathtaking lake views, homestay bookings are 40 times higher so far this month than during the same period in 2019.

Considering the torridity of the weather and the tourism market boom during the summer, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism recently released several notices to remind travelers to closely monitor their health conditions and arrange for more reasonable travel schedules to avoid sunstroke.

Fan Dongxiao, director of the after-sales department of Tuniu, a tourism services provider, said that summer is the peak season for travel, so travel agencies need to be fully prepared in case of emergencies.

"To better handle the surge, we prepared emergency plans for extreme temperatures, typhoons and heavy rains to ensure travelers' safety. We also evaluate risky entertainment events to inform travelers beforehand," she said. "We've seen some destinations that are extremely popular this summer, and traveling resources such as tour guides, buses and accommodations are in short supply. So we have plans to purchase these services in advance."