Pingtan's B&Bs and hotels are filled to the brim as the May Day holiday slowly approaches.

"Room reservations started filling in as early as half a month back, now we can only refer call-in reservations to other hotels in town. Currently, you can hardly find an available room in rural homestays, and the booking rate is above 95%." According to Chen Qiang, a local B&B owner, since the outbreak of "Sea Sparkles" in Pingtan during the Qingming Festival, more than 1,000 visitors have swarmed to Changjiang'ao Bay every day. The Covid-19 pandemic had halted island tourism for a while.Ever since the pandemic was brought under better control in China, Pingtan’s tourism has been back on fast track.

“99% of rooms in our hotel have been booked,” said a manager from a downtown hotel. “Our guests are mainly free independent travelers (FIT)  mostly from Zhejiang province, Jiangxi province, Shanghai, and Beijing. The tourism in Pingtan is expected to boom the upcoming May Day holiday.”

Now, prices have increased significantly, ranging from 300 to 600 yuan per room.The prices of some popular homestays have quadrupled, a significant markup.

The rate spike did not pose as a big turnoff to tourists. On the contrary, the rising demand has led to a rise in the prices of some quaint homestays.

Tourist Ms. Chen from Zhangzhou, Fujian had planned to visit Pingtan on May Day. Given the sought-after accommodations over the holiday, Chen made a phone reservation just after Qingming. As a result, there was only one sea-view room left. She was taken by surprise by the outcome.

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