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 spots have announced free admission policies, and the demand for spring outings combined with the “free admission effect” has quickly warmed up March, a traditional off-peak season for cultural tourism, showing characteristics of “not so off-peak” in the post-holiday cultural tourism market.

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 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, the scenic areas of Yuntai Mountain, Shenyang Palace Museum, Lushan Scenic Area, Tianji Longmen, and Qingtian River Scenic Area have entered the top 10 list of scenic spots with soaring interest in free admission nationwide.

As of March 4, the search and booking heat for hotels and scenic area tickets on the platform has significantly declined compared to the peak period during the Spring Festival, but it still shows over a 10% growth compared to the same period last year. The search volume for some popular scenic spots has increased by 2.6 times month-on-month, presenting a “not so off-peak” phenomenon. In terms of visitor structure, the return home and inter-provincial travel that dominated during the Spring Festival is gradually cooling down, while local and surrounding travel is becoming increasingly active.

Specifically, the Lushan Scenic Area in Jiangxi has waived admission 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 has offered free admission to visitors from the “Four Provinces” of Henan, Shanxi, Shandong, and Hebei in March, driving a 244% increase in search volume for the scenic area month-on-month, with hotel bookings in the vicinity rising by 18% year-on-year. The Shenyang Palace Museum will release 3,000 free tickets daily for reservations by Shenyang citizens from March 3 to March 8, with its search and reservation heat on the Tongcheng platform increasing by 163%. The free tickets released 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 several scenic spots. On February 25, the Lushan Scenic Area in Jiangxi announced that from March 1 to 31, 2026, all domestic and international visitors would have free admission, covering 8 major scenic spots including Lushan Scenic Area, San die Spring, and Bailudong Academy. After the announcement, hotel bookings in the business district where Lushan is located saw a significant increase. As of now, the booking volume for hotels around Lushan for March has surged fivefold compared to the week before the announcement.

Data shows that during the same period, hotel bookings in Jiujiang, Jiangxi were also boosted, with a month-on-month increase of 2.6 times, reflecting a trend of tourists taking advantage of the free admission opportunity to explore nearby cities.

From November 2025, Quzhou in Zhejiang will offer free admission to 13 core scenic spots for global visitors until March 31, 2026. Data from Qunar indicates that during the free admission period, the overall hotel booking volume in Quzhou increased by nearly 20% year-on-year. Among them, the effect of free admission scenic spots is particularly prominent: hotels near Jianglang Mountain increased by 47% year-on-year, those near the ancient town of Niubodao increased by 21%, and those near Shuitingmen and Kongmiao increased by 18%.

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

On February 11, Ma’anshan in Anhui 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, the booking volume for local hotels in March 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 spots lowers the decision-making threshold for tourists. By exchanging “subtraction” of ticket prices for “addition” of visitor flow, it can quickly activate traffic around scenic spots and create significant consumption spillover effects, promoting local and cross-regional cultural tourism consumption. At the same time, free admission also raises higher demands for the quality of services at scenic spots, forcing the industry to improve the level of refined and professional operations.

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

The Tongcheng Research Institute believes that this year’s post-holiday cultural tourism market shows characteristics of “not so off-peak,” mainly driven by three factors: first, many scenic spots 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; and third, some office workers and senior groups choose to travel during off-peak times after the holiday, pursuing higher cost-effective travel experiences. As the weather warms up, the search volume for keywords like “flower viewing” and “spring outing” on the Tongcheng travel platform has increased by over 110% month-on-month, and a new wave of travel peaks is expected nationwide in late March.

(Edited by: Wenjing)

Keywords:

Scenic Spots Tourism