Total trips during China's National Day Golden Week (Oct. 1-7) are expected to reach 2.13 billion. International flight bookings rose 22.5% from a year earlier, and the ranking of popular overseas destinations changed markedly.
China's National Day holiday is entering its final stretch. This year's break ran from Oct. 1 to 7, and taking leave on the working days between it and the Sept. 25-27 Mid-Autumn holiday allowed up to 13 days off. Citing Japan's Wedge, Phoenix (ifeng) reported that total trips nationwide during the holiday are expected to reach 2.13 billion.
광고 문의 · 300×250At home, Urumqi and Kunming were among the hottest destinations, while perennial favorites such as Chongqing, Chengdu, Beijing and Shanghai were also packed, with crowds filling the Great Wall and Shanghai's Nanjing Road. Toll-free highway travel runs until midnight on Oct. 7.
Demand to avoid crowds and public transport also grew, with more people driving to quiet spots for camping and fishing. China News Service noted that tourism spending is shifting from sightseeing 'check-ins' to immersive experiences.
Overseas travel was also brisk. Booking data released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in late September showed international flight bookings for the Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays up 22.5% year on year. The most popular overseas cities were Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Sydney, with Dubai, London, Paris and the Maldives also ranking high.
No Japanese city made the top 10, compared with Tokyo at third and Osaka at eighth last year. Japan National Tourism Organization data show 2.904 million Chinese visitors to Japan in January-August, down 56.7%. Analysts link the drop to the cooling of China-Japan relations after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan last November.
