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 effect of spring outing demand and “free ticket” promotions has rapidly warmed the traditional off-season for cultural tourism in March. After the holiday, the cultural and tourism market shows signs of “off-season not dull.”

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 popularity for keywords like “free tickets for scenic spots” and “off-peak travel” has continued to rise, with a month-on-month increase of 358%. Among them, Yuntai Mountain Scenic Area, Shenyang Imperial Palace, Lushan Scenic Area, Tianji Dragon Gate, and Qingtian River Scenic Area rank among the top 10 hottest free scenic spots nationwide.

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 have seen search volume increase by up to 2.6 times month-on-month, demonstrating that the “off-season” is not dull. In terms of visitor sources, the main travel during the Spring Festival—returning home and cross-province travel—is cooling down, while local and surrounding area travel are becoming more active.

Specifically, in March, Lushan Scenic Area in Jiangxi offers 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, in March, Yuntai Mountain Scenic Area in Henan offers free tickets to visitors from Henan, Shanxi, Shandong, and Hebei, driving a 244% month-on-month increase in searches, with hotel bookings in the surrounding area up 18% year-on-year. From March 3 to March 8, the Shenyang Imperial 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 Lushan Scenic Area, San Die Quan, Bailudong Academy, and other eight core scenic spots. After the announcement, hotel reservations in the Lushan commercial area 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, were similarly boosted, increasing by 2.6 times month-on-month, reflecting a trend of tourists taking advantage of free tickets to explore surrounding cities more deeply.

In Zhejiang’s Quzhou, since November 2025, 13 core scenic spots have been open to the public for free 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% year-on-year, those near Nianba Duzhen Ancient Town increased by 21%, and those near Shuitingmen and Confucius Temple increased by 18%.

On February 25, Henan’s Jiaozuo 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 month-on-month.

Yang Han, a researcher at Qunar Data Research Institute, analyzed that free admission reduces the barriers for tourists’ travel decisions. By exchanging ticket “reductions” for increased visitor flow, it 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 mark the “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 scenic spot searches compared to the previous weekend. The “free ticket effect” combined with the weekend and Women’s Day has caused related travel product bookings to increase by over 65% week-on-week.

Tongcheng Research Institute believes that the cultural tourism market after the holiday this year shows the characteristic of “off-season not dull,” mainly driven by three factors: first, many scenic spots launched free ticket promotions, directly stimulating tourists’ willingness to travel; second, local and surrounding area 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 to pursue higher cost-performance travel experiences. As the weather warms, 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.