The "staycation" travel trend will dominate the upcoming three-day New Year holiday with Chinese travelers responding to the government's call to avoid unnecessary trips outside their hometowns to curb the spread of COVID-19, travel operators said.

Almost all hot spring hotels in Shanghai have no vacancies on New Year's Eve and January 1, with only a few rooms left on January 2.

Bookings made since December involving travel in the city or nearby provinces or municipalities for the upcoming New Year holiday have accounted for more than 50% of all orders, Shanghai-based online travel operator Trip.com revealed.

Among them, the bookings for hot spring attractions soared 40% from the same period last year, and hot spring trips have become the No. 1 vacation choice among "staycationers" based on booking data, according to the travel platform.

Online travel operator Tuniu.com said about 49% of tour products booked for the holiday so far involved travel within or near people's home cities.

Females are more passionate about taking a trip during the holiday than males, it said.

A total of 61% of bookings for the holiday were made by female travelers, among whom nearly 50% are aged between 26 and 35.

Sanya in Hainan Province as a popular beach resort has maintained its position as the favorite destination among Chinese travelers during the holiday. Ski trips in China's northeast and hot spring hotels in East China are also gaining popularity with bookings climbing, according to Tuniu.com.

Hainan, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangxi, Yunnan and Hubei are among the most popular destinations during the holiday, it said.