Millions of Chinese tourists are expected to travel within their country, spending big on hotels, tours, attractions and food. The eight-day fall holiday period starting Friday will boost the economy.
This year’s holidays start with the Mid-Autumn Festival on Friday (29/9) and also National Day on October 1. This public holiday ends on October 6.
Usually hundreds of millions of Chinese travel within and outside the country during such holiday seasons. The eight-day holiday is the longest holiday week since restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted in December. Outbound tourism lags behind travel within the country, with flight capacity still lagging behind pre-pandemic capacity.
Big cities such as the capital, Beijing, Shanghai and southern cities such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou are favorite destinations. Smaller cities, such as Chengdu and Chongqin in the southwest are also popular.
Visitors gather near giant flower baskets on display in busy Tiananmen Square to celebrate the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, in Beijing, Thursday, September 28, 2023. (AP/Andy Wong)
All this travel is very profitable for the world’s second largest economy. In a weeklong holiday last May, 274 million tourists spent 148 billion yuan ($20.3 billion).
“Over the last few years with the pandemic, there has been very strong pent-up demand,” said Boon Sian Chai, managing director of online travel booking platform Trip.com Group. Travel within and outside the country has both “recovered significantly,” but Domestic travel accounts for nearly three-quarters of all bookings, Chai said.
China Railway, China’s rail service, estimates about 190 million passengers will travel from Sept. 27 to Oct. 8, more than double the number of trips last year and an increase from 2019, before the pandemic took hold.
In Guangzhou and Shenzhen, high-speed overnight trains will operate for 11 days to cope with the surge in travel during this holiday season, according to China Railway Guangzhou Group Co., Ltd.
Tourists passing by at Beijing Railway Station, Friday, September 29 2023. (AP/Andy Wong)
Another 21 million passengers are expected to travel by air during the holiday season, with an average of about 17,000 flights per day, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China. More than 805 of those flights were on domestic routes.
Jia Jianqiang, CEO of Liurenyou International Travel Agency, said Chinese people spend a lot of money on more luxurious trips. “Many people now also tend to choose luxury tours tailored to their needs, compared to the large group tours that were popular before the pandemic,” said Jia.
For many Chinese, long public holidays such as Golden Week are the best time to travel, as paid leave can only be taken for up to five days a year. (uh/lt)