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

Source: Securities Times Network Author: Cao Chen

Recently, multiple scenic spots announced free admission policies. The combined spring outing demand and the “free ticket effect” have quickly warmed up March, traditionally a low season for culture and tourism. After the holiday, the market shows signs of “not being slow in the off-season.”

According to incomplete statistics, as of now, many provinces across the country, including Jiangxi, Henan, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Anhui, and others, have launched limited-time free admission policies for scenic spots (some spots restrict certain visitors). Data from the Tongcheng Travel platform shows that over the past week, search interest for keywords like “scenic spot free tickets” and “off-peak travel” has continued to rise, with a month-on-month increase of 358%. Notably, Yuntai Mountain Scenic Area, Shenyang Palace Museum, Lushan Scenic Area, Tianji Dragon Gate, and Qingtian River Scenic Area ranked among the top 10 in the national list of popular free scenic spots.

As of March 4, search and booking activity for hotels and scenic spot tickets on the platform has significantly declined compared to the peak of the Spring Festival, but still remains over 10% higher than the same period last year. Some popular scenic spots saw search volume increase by up to 2.6 times month-on-month, demonstrating that the “off-season is not slow.” In terms of visitor sources, the main travel during the Spring Festival—returning home and cross-province travel—is cooling down, while local and nearby travel are becoming more active.

Specifically, in March, Lushan Scenic Area in Jiangxi is offering free admission to all domestic and international visitors. Over the past week, searches for Lushan Scenic Area increased by 156% month-on-month, and hotel bookings around the area rose by 23% year-on-year. Additionally, Yuntai Mountain Scenic Area in Henan is offering free tickets in March to visitors from Henan, Shanxi, Shandong, and Hebei, which has driven search volume for the scenic spot up by 244% month-on-month, with hotel bookings in the surrounding area increasing by 18% year-on-year. From March 3 to March 8, the Shenyang Palace Museum released 3,000 free tickets daily for local residents to reserve; on the Tongcheng platform, searches and reservations increased by 163% month-on-month, and the free tickets were quickly booked out after opening reservations on March 3 and 4.

Qunar data shows that the “free ticket effect” directly boosted hotel bookings around several scenic spots. On February 25, Jiangxi’s Lushan announced that from March 1 to 31, 2026, all domestic and international visitors could enjoy free admission, covering core attractions such as Lushan Scenic Area, San Die Quan, and Bailudong Academy. After the announcement, hotel reservations in the Lushan business district surged significantly. As of now, bookings for hotels around Lushan in March have increased fivefold compared to the week before the announcement.

Data also shows that hotel reservations in Jiujiang, Jiangxi, during the same period increased by 2.6 times, reflecting a trend of tourists taking advantage of free tickets to explore surrounding cities more deeply.

In Zhejiang, Quzhou has been offering free access to 13 core scenic spots from November 2025 until March 31, 2026. Qunar data indicates that during the free period, hotel reservations across Quzhou increased by nearly 20% year-on-year. The effect is especially notable near scenic spots: hotels near Jianglang Mountain increased by 47%, those near Nianba Duzhen Ancient Town grew by 21%, and nearby Water Pavilion and Confucius Temple areas increased by 18%.

On February 25, Henan Jiaozuo’s Yuntai Mountain announced free admission for visitors from Henan, Shanxi, Shandong, and Hebei in March. So far, hotel bookings in Jiaozuo for March have increased by 2.5 times compared to the previous month.

On February 11, Anhui Ma’anshan announced that five major scenic spots would be open to global visitors for free until March 31. Qunar data shows that within 15 days of the announcement, hotel reservations in the area for March increased by 3.1 times compared to the previous period.

Yang Han, a researcher at Qunar Big Data Research Institute, analyzed that free admission reduces the barriers for tourists’ travel decisions. By exchanging ticket “reductions” for increased visitor flow, scenic spots can quickly activate surrounding traffic and generate significant spillover effects in consumption, radiating to local and cross-regional cultural tourism. At the same time, free tickets also raise higher requirements for scenic spot service quality, pushing the industry to improve refined and professional operations.

It is worth noting that this weekend will celebrate International Women’s Day. Scenic spots such as Huangshan in Anhui, Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan, and Pingshan Forest Park in Nanjing are offering limited-time free tickets for female visitors, leading to a more than 1.8 times increase in related search volume. The “free ticket effect” combined with the weekend and Women’s Day has caused related travel product bookings to increase by over 65% compared to the previous weekend.

Tongcheng Research Institute believes that the post-holiday culture and tourism market this year shows the characteristic of “not being slow in the off-season,” mainly driven by three factors: first, many scenic spots launched free ticket offers, directly stimulating tourists’ willingness to travel; second, local and nearby travel have become mainstream, with shorter travel radii but higher travel frequency; third, some office workers and senior groups choose to travel off-peak after the holiday, seeking higher cost-performance travel experiences. As the weather warms up, searches for keywords like “flower viewing” and “spring outing” on the Tongcheng platform have increased by over 110% week-on-week, and a new travel peak is expected nationwide in late March.