(Yicai Global) June 9 -- Train tickets on several popular routes in China from the big cities to getaway destinations over the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival holiday sold out soon after they went on sale yesterday, indicating that tourism in the country is bouncing back.

Tickets on a number of sought-after routes, such as Shanghai to scenic Hangzhou and Shanghai to the coastal city of Qingdao, for the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival on June 22 sold out within minutes of becoming available, according to online travel agency Qunar.

Tickets for popular routes from Beijing to Zhengzhou in central Henan province, Shanghai to Hefei in eastern Anhui province and Wuhan to Xi’an in central Shaanxi province have been selling like hot cakes and some routes have sold out, travel platform Fliggy said, citing data as of 2 p.m. China time yesterday.

There has also been a big jump in air ticket bookings. On June 6 air ticket sales over the three-day break, which lasts from June 22 to June 24, soared 57 percent from the week before to more than 1.4 million, according to industry data app Umetrip.

Prices are now cheaper than what they were during the five-day Labor Day holiday in May. The average price of an air ticket on domestic routes has tumbled 20 percent during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday from over the Labor Day break to CNY985 (USD138), according to Umetrip data. And that for a return trip to and from an overseas destination has slumped 8 percent to CNY3,753 (USD527) a ticket.

The price of air tickets is now even lower than that of high-speed trains on some routes, Beijing-based Qunar said. According to its data, the price of air tickets on domestic routes is 20 percent less than over the Labor Day holiday. And according to Fliggy, the price was 10 percent lower as of June 7.

Editor: Kim Taylor