China's online travel agency juggernaut Ctrip published a report Tuesday, saying that during the recent three-day Mid-Autumn Festival vacation, about 56% of its users booked travel plans within their province.

Among this group of tourists, roughly 54% were born after the 1990s, the report shows.

Ctrip's research institute explained the reasons behind this emerging trend. It said that in addition to sporadic COVID-19 infections across the country, people are also beginning to reimagine what tourism looks like, which includes travels closer to home.

It noted that more people, especially younger generations, are looking beyond traditional tourist sites, and are willing to spend their holidays at resorts, theme parks, and RV campgrounds.

For example, when tickets to Universal Beijing Resort's Sept. 20 grand opening went on sale the week prior, the vast majority sold out within minutes. According to Lin Huanjie, head of the Institute for Theme Park Studies in China, the resort is expected to receive more than 10 million visits per year with annual revenues of about 8 billion yuan (about $1.24 billion).

In addition, local authorities across China have introduced a series of products and experiences promoting local culture and tourism. Meanwhile, galleries and museums are seeing higher numbers of visitors, and tourists are also increasingly seeking tranquility during their travels in nearby suburban and rural regions.

According to the report, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai were the top three cities for tourism over the Mid-Autumn Festival break.

China's tourism sector continues to recover amid a stable COVID-19 situation. Statistics from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism show that the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday saw about 88.16 million domestic trips, which generated revenues of more than 37 billion yuan (about $5.7 billion).

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