​​​​​​​Airbnb releases forecasts for Chinese Spring Festival travel

Home-sharing service provider Airbnb has forecast that China's travel market will see significant growth during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday, with Chinese mainland tourists expected to travel to 111 countries and regions, according to Economic Information Daily.

Tourists pose for selfies on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Monday, March 5, 2018. [Photo: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein]

Airbnb's latest outlook on Chinese New Year shows that an increasing number of people are choosing to travel during the festival. It projects that Chinese mainland travelers will travel to 1,048 cities in 111 countries and regions during this year's festival, and that Asia-Pacific countries and regions will be the most popular overseas destinations. Japan, Thailand, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States are also expected to continue to attract Chinese travelers, while newly popular destinations such as Iceland also made the list of likely top travel spots. The report forecasts that February 4-6 will be the peak time for overseas travel.

Tourists make selfies with panda Yuan Zi at the zoo, in Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, France, Monday, December 4, 2017. [Photo: AP/Thibault Camus]

In the domestic market, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen will be major destinations for Airbnb users. According to the report, people born in the 1980s and 1990s have become the leading group of travelers domestically, accounting for 80 percent of homestay reservation.