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, multiple scenic spots have announced free admission, and the combination of spring travel demand and the “free admission effect” has rapidly warmed up March, a traditionally off-peak season for cultural and tourism markets, showing characteristics of “not dull in the off-season” after the holiday.

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

As of March 4, the search and booking popularity for hotels and scenic spot tickets on the platform has significantly decreased compared to the peak period during the Spring Festival, but it still shows over a 10% increase compared to the same period last year. The search volume for some popular scenic spots has increased by 2.6 times month-on-month, showing a “not dull in the off-season” phenomenon. In terms of customer source structure, the returning home and interprovincial travel that dominated during the Spring Festival has gradually cooled down, while local and surrounding tourism has become increasingly active.

Specifically, the Lushan Scenic Area in Jiangxi has waived ticket fees for all domestic and international visitors in March. In the past week, the search volume for Lushan Scenic Area has increased by 156% month-on-month, and hotel bookings around the scenic area have increased by 23% year-on-year. Additionally, the Yuntai Mountain Scenic Area in Henan is offering free admission to visitors from the “Four Provinces” of Henan, Shanxi, Shandong, and Hebei in March, driving a 244% month-on-month increase in scenic area search volume, and hotel bookings around the area have increased by 18% year-on-year. The Shenyang Palace Museum is providing 3,000 free tickets daily for reservations by Shenyang citizens from March 3 to March 8, with its search and reservation popularity on the Tongcheng platform increasing by 163%, and the free tickets opened for reservation on March 3 and 4 were quickly snapped up.

Data from Qunar shows that the “free admission effect” has directly driven a surge in hotel bookings around multiple scenic spots. On February 25, Jiangxi Lushan announced free admission for all domestic and international visitors from March 1 to 31, 2026, covering Lushan Scenic Area, San die Spring, Bailu Cave Academy, and other eight core scenic spots. After the announcement, hotel bookings in the business district where Lushan is located increased significantly, with the number of reservations for hotels around Lushan in March surging fivefold compared to the week before the announcement.

Data shows that during the same period, hotel bookings in Jiujiang City, Jiangxi, also benefited from this boost, increasing by 2.6 times month-on-month, reflecting a consumer trend where tourists take advantage of free admission to explore surrounding cities in depth.

Quzhou, Zhejiang, will offer free admission to 13 core scenic spots for global visitors from November 2025 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 driving effect of the free admission scenic spots is particularly prominent: hotel bookings near Jianglang Mountain increased by 47% year-on-year, near the ancient town of Niubodao increased by 21%, and near Shuitingmen and Kong Miao increased by 18%.

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

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

Yang Han, a researcher at the Qunar Big Data Research Institute, analyzed that the free admission to scenic spots has lowered the threshold for visitors’ travel decisions. By exchanging “subtracting” ticket fees for “adding” visitor flow, it not only quickly activates traffic around scenic spots but also creates a significant consumption spillover effect, promoting local and cross-regional cultural and tourism consumption. At the same time, free admission also raises higher requirements for the quality of services at scenic spots, forcing the industry to improve detailed and professional operation levels.

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

The Tongcheng Research Institute analyzes that this year’s post-holiday cultural and tourism market shows characteristics of “not dull in the off-season,” mainly driven by three factors: first, many scenic spots have launched free admission discounts, directly stimulating tourists’ willingness to travel; second, local and surrounding tourism have become mainstream, with shortened travel radii but significantly increased travel frequency; third, some office workers and senior groups choose to travel during off-peak periods after the holiday, seeking a higher cost-performance travel experience. With the weather warming up, in the past week, the search volume for keywords such as “viewing flowers” and “spring outings” 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 arrive nationwide in late March.

(Edited by: Wenjing)

Keywords:

                                                            Scenic spots  
                                                            Tourism