Shenzhen Business Daily Reading Client Reporter Chen Faqing
With the advent of spring, it's time to go out in spring. Qunar data shows that after the Spring Festival, the tourism market entered the off-season, and the "silver-haired people" began their spring outing. Qunar data shows that air tickets and hotels** in popular cities in March fell by nearly 40% compared with the Spring Festival period; The proportion of "silver-haired" tourists over the age of 55 has increased significantly, exceeding 15%, exceeding the same period last year. Different from previous years, this year's silver-haired people prefer "special forces"-style free travel; For elderly travelers who are more playful, the destination of "check-in" has extended to overseas.
The average flight distance has increased by three percent The silver-haired "special forces" prefer to travel independently.
After the Lantern Festival, the rain and snow weather ended in many places in China, and civil aviation, high-speed rail and other transportation returned to normal. Primary and secondary schools have opened one after another, and the middle-aged and elderly people who help "bring babies" can enjoy their own holidays. Qunar data shows that from the perspective of air ticket bookings, the proportion of passengers over 55 years old who departed in March increased to 15%. Among them, 58% are 55-60 years old, 24% are 60-65 years old, and 18% are over 66 years old.
On the Qunar platform, flights from 6 to 9 a.m. are favored by silver-haired people, and it is not difficult for middle-aged and elderly people to "get up early", and flights before 9 a.m. are nearly half lower than those from 9 a.m. to 16 p.m.**; More than 20% of middle-aged and elderly travelers will rush to 2-3 destinations in a week. If calculated in terms of playing time and travel distance, the silver-haired "special forces" are not inferior to young people.
This year's silver-haired people prefer independent travel, focusing on "go where it is cheap". On the Qunar platform, air tickets** from big cities dropped by nearly 40% compared with the Spring Festival, and hotels** also dropped by more than 30% compared with the Spring Festival. Therefore, in-depth tours in the province centered on big cities, or "check-in tours" that connect big cities are more popular.
For example, in-depth travel in Yunnan Province, flying from big cities to Kunming, taking Kunming as the center of in-depth travel in Yunnan, air tickets in the province** are about 300 yuan (including machine construction fuel costs); Starting from Beijing, check in Chongqing-Changsha-Chengdu-Kunming one after another, and each section of air tickets** is also about 300 yuan (including the cost of machine construction fuel). Some airlines also offer senior discounts, which offer additional benefits on top of discounted tickets.
Qunar data shows that Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Chongqing, Changsha, Wuhan and other cities are the main source of tourists for the silver-haired group; Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Kunming, Xi'an, Nanjing, and Chongqing are popular destinations.
Xiao Peng, a researcher at Qunar Big Data Research Institute, said: "In the past, when we mentioned the travel of middle-aged and elderly people, we often talked about 'elderly groups', 'children booking', 'digital divide', etc., but today's 'middle-aged and elderly people', many of them are 'post-60s', they are in the prime of life to catch up with the rapid development of the country, and have a strong understanding of new things. ”
Mo Dao Sangyu late "rich and free" silver-haired travelers go abroad.
Thanks to the reduced off-season** and improved infrastructure, the elderly have gone further. Qunar data shows that the average flight distance of passengers over 55 years old departing in March 2024 increased by more than 30% year-on-year, exceeding 1,200 kilometers, which is about the distance of the Beijing-Shanghai line.
Not only domestic travel, but since the beginning of this year, the proportion of outbound travel by tourists over 55 years old has recovered to more than 9%, which is close to the pre-epidemic level. Popular destinations include Bangkok (Thailand), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Singapore, Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan), Osaka (Japan), Hong Kong (China), Phuket (Thailand), Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia), Melbourne (Australia), etc. Popular departure points are Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Hangzhou.
Xiao Peng said: "Compared with March 2023, the increase in outbound travel bookings for seniors is very exaggerated. This means that the number of outbound flights and passenger reception capacity have gradually recovered in the past year; At the same time, it also proves that this year's 'silver-haired people' have stronger spending power and willingness to spend, and they are also willing to accept new things and new ways to play. According to the China Tourism Academy, at the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan, there will be more than 100 million young and healthy elderly people with a higher travel rate and more tourism consumption in China, and the tourism income of the elderly is expected to exceed one trillion yuan. ”