Many scenic spots across multiple regions are offering free admission policies, and the post-holiday tourism market is showing signs of a "off-season not quiet" trend.

Source: Securities Times Network Author: Cao Chen

Recently, several scenic areas have announced free admission, and the combination of spring outing demand with the “free ticket effect” has quickly warmed up March, a traditionally low season for cultural tourism, showing characteristics of “not a quiet low season” in the post-holiday cultural tourism market.

According to incomplete statistics, as of now, multiple provinces across the country, including Jiangxi, Henan, Liaoning, Zhejiang, and Anhui, have launched limited-time free admission policies for scenic areas (some scenic areas are limited to specific visitors). Data from the Tongcheng Travel platform shows that in the past week, the search popularity of keywords such as “free admission to scenic areas” and “off-peak travel” has continued to rise, with a month-on-month increase of 358%. Among them, scenic areas such as Yuntai Mountain, Shenyang Palace Museum, Lushan Scenic Area, Tianji Longmen, and Qingtianhe Scenic Area have entered the top 10 in the nationwide free admission scenic area popularity rankings.

As of March 4, the search and booking enthusiasm for hotels and scenic tickets on the platform has significantly declined compared to the peak period during the Spring Festival, but there is still over a 10% increase compared to the same period last year. The search volume for some popular scenic areas has surged by 2.6 times month-on-month, presenting a “not a quiet low season” phenomenon. In terms of visitor structure, the homecoming trips and inter-provincial travel that dominated during the Spring Festival are gradually cooling down, while local and surrounding travel is becoming increasingly active.

Specifically, the Lushan Scenic Area in Jiangxi is waiving admission fees for all domestic and international visitors in March. In the past week, the search volume for the Lushan Scenic Area has increased by 156% month-on-month, and hotel bookings around the scenic area have risen by 23% year-on-year. In addition, the Yuntai Mountain Scenic Area in Henan is offering free admission in March to the four provinces of Henan, Shanxi, Shandong, and Hebei, resulting in a 244% month-on-month increase in search volume for the scenic area and an 18% year-on-year growth in hotel bookings in the vicinity. The Shenyang Palace Museum will offer 3,000 free tickets daily for reservation by Shenyang citizens from March 3 to March 8, with its search and reservation popularity on the Tongcheng platform increasing by 163%. The free tickets opened for reservation on March 3 and 4 were quickly snapped up.

Data from Qunar shows that the “free ticket effect” has directly driven a surge in hotel bookings around several scenic areas. On February 25, Lushan officially announced free admission for all domestic and international visitors from March 1 to March 31, 2026, covering eight core scenic areas including Lushan Scenic Area, Sandie Spring, and Bailudong Academy. Following the announcement, hotel bookings in the business district where Lushan is located have increased significantly; as of now, bookings for hotels around Lushan in March have surged fivefold compared to the week before the announcement.

Data shows that during the same period, hotel bookings in Jiujiang City, Jiangxi, were also boosted, with a month-on-month increase of 2.6 times, reflecting the trend of tourists using the opportunity of free tickets to explore surrounding cities in depth.

From November 2025, Quzhou, Zhejiang will offer free admission to 13 core scenic areas for global visitors until March 31, 2026. Data from Qunar shows that during the free admission period, hotel bookings in Quzhou City increased by nearly 20% year-on-year. Among them, the effect of free admission scenic areas is particularly prominent: hotels near Jianglang Mountain saw a year-on-year increase of 47%, those near the ancient town of Twenty-Eight Docks increased by 21%, and those near Shuitingmen and the Confucian Temple increased by 18%.

On February 25, Yuntaishan in Jiaozuo, Henan announced free admission in March for the four provinces of Henan, Shanxi, Shandong, and Hebei. As of now, hotel bookings in Jiaozuo City for March have increased by 2.5 times month-on-month.

On February 11, Ma’anshan in Anhui announced that five major scenic areas would be open for free to global visitors until March 31. Data from Qunar shows that within 15 days of the announcement, hotel bookings for March in the area increased by 3.1 times month-on-month.

Yang Han, a researcher at the Qunar Big Data Research Institute, analyzed that free admission to scenic areas lowers the threshold for tourists’ travel decisions. By exchanging “subtraction” of ticket prices for “addition” of visitor flow, it can not only quickly activate surrounding traffic but also create a significant spillover effect on consumption, driving local and cross-regional cultural tourism consumption. At the same time, free admission also raises higher requirements for the quality of services in scenic areas, forcing the industry to improve the level of refined and specialized operations.

It is worth mentioning that this weekend will welcome International Women’s Day, and scenic areas such as Huangshan in Anhui, Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan, and Pingshan Forest Park in Nanjing have launched limited-time free admission policies for female visitors, resulting in a month-on-month increase of over 1.8 times in the search volume for related scenic areas. The “free ticket effect” combined with the weekend and Women’s Day has led to a more than 65% month-on-month increase in the booking enthusiasm for related travel products this weekend.

The Tongcheng Research Institute analyzes that the post-holiday cultural tourism market this year shows a characteristic of “not a quiet low season,” mainly driven by three factors: first, multiple scenic areas have launched free admission discounts, directly stimulating tourists’ willingness to travel; second, local and surrounding travel has become mainstream, with shorter travel radii but significantly increased travel frequency; third, some office workers and senior groups choose to travel off-peak after the holiday, pursuing a higher cost-performance travel experience. As the weather warms up, in the past week, the search volume for keywords such as “flower viewing” and “spring outing” on the Tongcheng travel platform has increased by over 110% month-on-month, and it is expected that a new round of travel peak will occur nationwide in late March.