Beijing (TDI): China’s Golden Week, the National Day holidays, has witnessed a remarkable tourism surge, showcasing significant growth in both domestic and international travel.
Official data, coupled with reports from major Chinese travel booking platforms, points to a thriving tourism sector and underscores the resilience of China’s consumption market — two key pillars of the nation’s economic growth.
Experts have emphasized that the buoyant tourism sector reflects the overall health of the Chinese economy, which has been bolstered by a series of recent policy measures aimed at promoting growth.
With continued policy support, China’s economy is expected to maintain steady growth throughout the remainder of the year.
On the final day of the weeklong National Day holidays, cross-regional passenger trips across China exceeded 278 million, marking a 5.2% increase from the same period in 2023, according to data from the Ministry of Transport (MOT).
Notably, this figure also represents a 24.8% jump compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
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China’s railway network was particularly busy, registering over 18.5 million trips, an increase of 8.6% from 2023 and 26.6% from 2019.
The MOT had earlier projected that cross-regional travel during the seven-day Golden Week could reach 1.94 billion trips, a 19.4% rise from 2019 levels.
While comprehensive data on total tourism spending and trips are yet to be released, early indicators from Chinese travel platforms highlight robust growth.
Cross-border travel, in particular, saw a sharp rise.
Ctrip, one of the largest online travel agencies in China, reported that daily order volumes for both outbound and inbound travel hit a record high, surpassing 2019 levels.
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Ctrip also noted a strong year-on-year increase in hotel and B&B bookings, reflecting the resilience of China’s tourism consumption.
“The sustained strength in tourism spending has also provided a boost to the global tourism industry,” Ctrip said in a report shared with media outlets.
Solid Growth in Domestic Travel
Similarly, Tongcheng Travel, another leading platform, reported solid growth in domestic travel during the holidays, particularly among residents from smaller cities.
Car rental bookings in third-tier cities surged by more than 50%, while hotel bookings in nearly 100 counties saw a similar year-on-year rise.
Qunar, another travel agency, observed a 300% increase in outbound travel bookings by residents of smaller cities and a 70% rise among those from second-tier cities, further highlighting the widespread tourism boom.
China’s tourism boom during Golden Week follows a positive trend that began earlier this year.
In the first three quarters of 2024, domestic tourism trips are expected to reach 4.29 billion, up 16.8% year-on-year, with tourism expenditure likely to hit 4.32 trillion yuan, marking a 17.1% increase.
