(Yicai Global) Dec. 23 -- The three-day holiday around New Year’s Day will be China’s first long break since the country eased its coronavirus policy. Online travel agency Trip.Com expects the number of journeys made between Chinese provinces during the period to jump 34 percent over the same period of this year.

Inter-provincial travel will account for 60 percent of the total over the New Year holiday, an increase on the Mid-Autumn Festival in September, with bookings for flights and scenic spots climbing 21 percent and 33 percent, respectively, Trip.Com said in a report released today.

According to Trip.Com, the 10 most popular city destinations as of yesterday were: Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Chongqing, Xiamen, and Sanya.

Among them, the usual popular destinations are picking up more quickly, with bookings to southern Hainan Island surging 232 percent for the New Year holiday compared with the Mid-Autumn Festival and up about 20 percent for southwestern Yunnan province.

In addition, cross-border tourism has also regained popularity in the wake of China’s new Covid-19 entry-exit policies. During the New Year break, trips booked from the Chinese mainland to Macau and Hong Kong surged 67 percent and 50 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.

Melbourne, Chinese Taipei, Singapore, Seoul, and Tokyo were among other popular cross-border tourist cities, Trip.Com noted.

Tebon Securities pointed out in a research report that after the Covid-19 controls were relaxed, the cities hit by the first wave of infections have seen the virus peak. More than 10 cities, including Beijing and Shijiazhuang, had higher population inflows this week, and a turning point is expected across the country around New Year’s Day, the report added.

Editor: Peter Thomas