Many Chinese families are planning extended trips this spring as a number of primary and middle schools introduce spring breaks coinciding with the Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, holiday in early April.

Tourists go sightseeing at a scenic spot in Kunshan, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Photo: People's Daily)

Data from online travel agency LY.com show that nearly 25 percent of Qingming holiday travelers are families with children, a noticeable rise from previous years. Group tours focused on educational trips, museums and seaside vacations are especially popular, with over 60 percent of families choosing four- to five-day itineraries.

Yang Han, a researcher at the Big Data Research Institute of online travel platform Qunar, noted that combining spring breaks with the Qingming Festival has effectively stimulated domestic demand. Cities that offer spring breaks are not only sending more tourists elsewhere but also implementing favorable policies to attract visitors.

Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Sichuan and other provinces are piloting spring breaks, with many timed to coincide with the Qingming Festival. Data from LY.com show that since mid-March, travel bookings in Nanjing, Suzhou and Chengdu have risen sharply.

Cheng Chaogong, chief researcher at the Tongcheng Research Institute, noted that the extended holiday period is likely to create new opportunities for integrating education with cultural tourism. As spring and autumn breaks are rolled out more widely, they are expected to further boost cultural tourism consumption.

For many travelers, enjoying blossoms and spring outings has become a centerpiece of the Qingming Festival, with more creative and diverse experiences emerging this year.

Since early spring, online travel agency Tuniu has rolled out a range of driving tour packages in destinations such as Nanjing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Kunming, Chengdu, Chongqing, Suzhou and Jiaxing. The packages combine flower-viewing with a range of accommodation options such as hotels, B&Bs and campsites, and often include nearby attractions like hot springs, local food and leisure activities.

Tourists enjoy coffee while admiring rapeseed flowers in Ji'an county, Huzhou city, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Photo: Chen Haiwei)

The holidays have also fueled Chinese tourists' interest in traveling abroad.

Visa-free destinations remain the top choice, according to Wei Jian, head of the travel research institute under online travel service provider Mafengwo. Popular options include Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Bali, Chiang Mai, Singapore, Kota Kinabalu, Phuket, Seoul and Jeju Island.

Inbound tourism is continuing to grow steadily. Recent data from online travel platform Ctrip show a sharp rise in inbound travel during the holiday period, with total bookings by foreign tourists eligible to enter China visa-free increasing nearly 90 percent year on year.