Rural charms cast their magic

About 40 percent of them placed orders within 24 hours and nearly 70 percent made purchases online in 30 days.

"High-quality cost performance, flexible validity period and easy refunds are important driving forces for users to develop the habit of buying online travel products," says Liu.

Those born in the '80s accounted for almost 50 percent of livestreaming sales, and those born in the '90s took up 25 percent. Shanghai, Sanya in Hainan province, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, Zhuhai in Guangdong province, and Chengdu in Sichuan province were the most favored destinations.

"The main trend is that travel doesn't have to be to faraway places, and localization of offerings is worth trying," tourism expert Xiao Yuanshan says.

Local rural tourism and urban vacations have a sufficient repurchase rate. Although the customer unit price is low, that is not necessarily the case for the profit margin, Xiao explains.

He calls for more focus on rural homestays, as well as the arrangement of social group experiences in the future.

Contact the writer at yangfeiyue@chinadaily.com.cn