Destination weddings, trips grow in popularity

More young Chinese couples are holding destination weddings and taking wedding trips instead of traditional weddings, and the just concluded National Day holiday saw high popularity of such a trend, industry players found.

During the weeklong holiday, the booking volume of domestic hotel rooms related to couples and honeymoons jumped by 30 percent year-on-year, according to Tongcheng Travel, a Suzhou, Jiangsu province-based online travel agency.

Before the holiday, searches of keywords about holding destination weddings and taking wedding trips during the break more than doubled on a yearly basis. Post-95s and those who were born after the year 2000 constitute the main groups of people who are interested in taking wedding trips, and they prefer personalized and themed weddings, Tongcheng Travel said.

"The popularity of destination weddings indicates young people's re-consideration of holding traditional weddings and their pursuit of personalized lifestyles. This has driven the tourism market to constantly innovate services and satisfy diversified market demand," said Cheng Chaogong, chief researcher at the Tongcheng Research Institute.

"Young couples are more willing to invest their money and energy into things that are more meaningful to themselves, such as travel, personal growth and career development, rather than holding traditional wedding ceremonies and banquets," Cheng said.

By 2026, sales of China's wedding service market are expected to exceed 5 trillion yuan ($704.2 billion), according to a forecast by consultancy Frost & Sullivan.

For holding destination weddings, seaside and islands stand as the most mature themes, with well-equipped and well-serviced hotels, and travel photography services, Tongcheng Travel said.

Sanya in Hainan province, Qingdao in Shandong province and Xiamen in Fujian province top the list as the most popular seaside wedding choices nationwide.

Overseas, Indonesia's resort island of Bali is a popular option among young Chinese couples to hold island weddings.

"Erhai Lake in Yunnan province and Qinghai Lake in Qinghai province came in as the two most sought-after places for holding lakeside weddings in China. Some fun activities such as cycling around the lake have also been incorporated into the weddings," Cheng said.

Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and western Sichuan province have also become ideal places for holding destination weddings, with their scenes of snow-capped mountains a perfect backdrop.

In addition, grassland weddings have become more attractive with their unique natural landscapes and ethnic cultures. Hulunbuir in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region stands as the most preferred grassland wedding destination in China.

For urban sceneries, exquisite garden weddings have attracted the attention of young couples. Suzhou gardens, Beijing traditional courtyard houses and Shanghai Western-style old houses are popular choices for youngsters, Tongcheng Travel found.

In addition, young couples are seen as more interested in taking diverse styles of wedding photos. In September, searches of taking neo-Chinese style wedding photos during trips jumped by 50 percent over August, according to Meituan, a major online services platform in China.

Xu Zimo, a Beijing-based office employee in the tourism sector, married her husband when they were both over 40 years of age. They chose a wedding trip instead of a wedding ceremony to celebrate their marriage, driving themselves to Northeast China regions and Yunnan province.

She said holding a traditional wedding has so many preparations to consider and manage, such as taking wedding photos, finding a wedding ceremony host and inviting guests.

"When I was young, I longed for beautiful wedding dresses and dreamy wedding scenes. But at this age, we feel that seeking self-pleasure and not bothering the elderly of the family is the most important. It was great that we enjoyed beautiful sceneries and diverse cultures of the country by taking wedding trips," Xu said.