Short and sweet

The service provider has worked with tourist attractions, museums and theme parks to focus on travelers' needs for short trips and to come up with service upgrades.

Over the Spring Festival holiday, online searches via Meituan for tickets to general activities, such as skiing, rose by 42.1 percent.

It shows that consumers were keen to get out of the city, but they weren't sure where exactly to go, suggesting that information which will help with their decision-making is needed, according to Zhang.

Meituan will leverage its consumer traffic to offer different options to potential travelers, says Zou Xiaodi, an officer with Meituan's ticket and marketing division.

Travelers' reviews of a scenic spot will be analyzed, and problems will be identified, in order to help optimize tourism products to the tastes of short-distance travelers, according to the online service provider.

Zou explains that the platform can match information between both the supply and demand sides, and use new tools to offer fresh activities and special delivery methods that will more effectively communicate value to travelers. On the destination side, it can help service providers recognize returning consumers.

At the same time, Meituan will also help businesses to upgrade and develop new added-value products to their customers, Zou adds.

Compared with travelers from other provinces, locals have more diverse, yet vague, interests, says Wang Dawei, chief marketing officer with the Guangdong-based theme park company Chimelong.

"They value novel and fun activities that break up the usual pace of life," Wang says, adding that local travelers have been on the rise since the breakout of the pandemic.

Last year, for its Halloween celebrations, Chimelong developed character interactions and held music carnivals in bid to cater to the preferences of young travelers.