SHORT getaways around Shenzhen and trips to the city’s outskirts are expected to be most popular among residents during the May Day holiday, Shenzhen Economic Daily reported Thursday, citing predictions from online travel service providers tuniu.com and Ctrip.com. Travel, like many things these days, has changed in so many ways during the COVID-19 pandemic. Short getaways, lasting two to three days and requiring only a 2-hour drive, are on the rise in Shenzhen. Shenzhen’s Dapeng New Area receives over 10 million visits per year as a popular tourist destination in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This year, the proportion of local tourists visiting Dapeng Fortress, one of the area’s most popular tourist attractions, has increased significantly to 85%. According to Zhang Xiangnan, operations director of the Dapeng Fortress cultural tourism area, some local tourists began their off-peak travel before the May Day holiday. The tourism industry is also adapting to market changes, with the launch of short-getaway tourism products that cater to higher frequency trips and can provide holidaymakers with more innovative and interesting experiences. Integrating culture, art, sports and other experiences into short getaways has become a critical way to improve the quality of tourism products, Shenzhen Economic Daily reported. For instance, during the May Day holiday, the Xichong coastal resort and the Shenzhen observatory have teamed up to offer star-gazing activities for viewing the bright stars that form the Southern Cross, and other programs such as campfire parties, picnics and movie screenings. Camping and picnics have also been popular choices for vacationers looking for relaxing getaways. The number of notes about camping in Shenzhen posted on Chinese social e-commerce app Xiaohongshu has surpassed 20,000. According to the app’s official statistics, the number of picnic searches on the app increased by 162% year on year during this year’s Qingming Festival holiday. (Zhang Yu) | 