As China's Dragon Boat Festival approaches, cities across the country are seeing a surge in short-haul trips and cultural activities tied to the holiday, a trend that industry insiders predict will intensify as the summer travel season gains momentum.

Also known as the Duanwu Festival, the traditional celebration occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. This year, it falls on May 31, with public holidays from May 31 to June 2.

During this year's Duanwu holidays, travel within the "two-hour high-speed rail radius" and short-to-medium distance self-driving trips have become the mainstream choices for holidaymakers, according to travel platform Fliggy.

Car rental bookings for the holidays have so far increased by 47 percent year-on-year, data the company shared with the Global Times on Monday showed.

Bookings for domestic short-haul travel during the holidays are up 23 percent year-on-year, according to a report sent by another travel platform Trip.com to the Global Times on Monday.

"Despite the short duration of the holidays, travelers remain highly enthusiastic about trips," Guo Yuan, a marketing manager at the Beijing CBD branch of China's CYTS Tours Holding Co, told the Global Times on Monday. Compared with regular weekends, the branch has reported a growth of more than 20 percent in travel bookings for the upcoming holidays, mainly for short-haul travel.

As traditional Dragon Boat Festival culture gains traction, folk activities such as dragon boat racing are emerging as major draws for cultural and tourism spending during the forthcoming holidays, according to industry data.

As of Monday, bookings for holiday-themed tours featuring traditional activities like dragon boat racing and zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) making had surged by 105 percent year-on-year, data from Fliggy showed.

Destinations such as Yueyang in Central China's Hunan Province and Foshan in South China's Guangdong Province, which are renowned for their vibrant dragon boat races, are attracting a growing number of holiday travelers.

Guo noted that at China's CYTS Tours Holding, such cultural-themed tours are particularly popular for company group activities, with many bookings already received.

Fu Wanli, manager of Utree Pavilion, a boutique guesthouse themed around Zen-inspired courtyards in Foshan, said that its proximity to a popular dragon boat drifting site has helped draw a large number of out-of-town visitors. Bookings for the holidays are up roughly 30 percent in terms of revenue compared with regular days, he told the Global Times on Monday.

Fu said that government support, including promotional efforts and the organization of music and cultural festivals in the surrounding area, has significantly boosted foot traffic, driving up local spending on dining and other related services. Fu also expected stronger revenue growth in the upcoming summer holiday peak season.

Su Ying, ticketing manager at Nanhu Water Sports Center in Yueyang, told the Global Times on Monday that the center's annual family dragon boat competitions have gained significant traction this year. With upgraded facilities, the center has seen a 30-50 percent year-on-year increase in visitors.

The timing coincides with the Fourth Hunan Tourism Development Conference, which opened on Sunday with Yueyang as its main venue. Su anticipates this high-profile provincial event will further boost tourist traffic to the center.

"The services sector, particularly culture and tourism, has become one of the key engines for China's efforts to vigorously boost consumption and stimulate domestic demand across the board," Wang Jinwei, professor at the School of Tourism Sciences at Beijing International Studies University, told the Global Times on Monday.

As part of the ongoing consumption-boosting efforts, the Chinese government in late April launched a nationwide campaign to promote cultural and tourism consumption, featuring measures including festival-themed activities and locally tailored events.