What are the newest Golden Week travel trends?

Chinese travelers are turning this year’s Golden Week, which runs through October 7, into something closer to a summer vacation. They are taking longer trips across more cities, and more of them are heading abroad, according to a roundup of booking-platform data and survey results from travel marketing firm Dragon Trail International. By taking three days of annual leave, workers are joining the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, which began September 25, to the National Day holiday to create a 13-day travel window. About one in 10 travelers is doing so, according to Ctrip data reported by China News Service. Ctrip is Trip.com Group’s China platform. The result is a market that rewards itineraries over single destinations and experiences over sightseeing. Bookings are up, but travelers are favoring value over luxury, and analysts told Reuters that record travel volume may not bring higher spending per trip. More cities, longer stays Extra days are going into extra stops. As of October 1, nearly 30% of travelers on Qunar had booked hotels in at least two cities, and the number staying in four or more cities was up 53% from a year earlier, the Trip.com Group booking platform said. Trip.com Group said bookings for hotel stays of seven nights or more rose 123% from last year's Golden Week, while bookings for multi-destination itineraries climbed 84%. Travelers now plan Golden Week the way they would a long vacation, starting with the number of days off and then building a route across several cities to fill them. A 13-day, multi-city trip has more moving parts than a weekend away. That favors platforms and hotel groups that can sell an itinerary. Farther, and abroad Longer breaks also mean longer journeys. On the first day of the National Day holiday, bookings on Qunar for flights of more than 2,000 kilometers were up more than 40% from a year earlier, the platform said. More of that distance crosses borders. In a Dragon Trail survey of 1,010 Chinese travelers, 54% said they planned to travel overseas during the holiday, up from 35% in 2025. Outbound trips average more than nine days, Trip.com Group said. Seoul stands out. Trip.com Group said the South Korean capital is the top holiday destination across its platforms worldwide for October 1 to 7, with international flight bookings up 91% from a year earlier. Seven days rarely justify a long-haul flight. Thirteen do. The longer holiday gives Chinese consumers the time to turn Golden Week into an international vacation. From checklists to experiences As tourists look for activity-based trips, searches on Qunar for immersive performances, fireworks shows and night tours rose more than 50% from a year earlier, the platform said. On Fliggy, Alibaba’s travel platform, domestic attraction tickets booked for Oct. 1 rose nearly 30% from a year earlier. The number of users buying products tied to natural scenery and villages over the holiday was up almost 50%. Tourists who once raced through a list of landmarks now appear to want fewer rushed stops and fuller days. For tourism and hospitality brands, getting visitors through the door is no longer enough. What sells is an experience that travelers can book in advance and slot into an itinerary. Busy, but careful Spending has a ceiling. During last year’s Golden Week, average spending per domestic trip fell to 911.04 RMB ($135.70) from 916.1 RMB in 2024, a drop of 0.55%, a three-year low, even as travel volume rose, according to Reuters calculations based on government data. People are still traveling. Each yuan just has to work harder. Caution also shows up in where travelers sleep. Mid-range hotels were the most popular choice among outbound travelers in Dragon Trail’s survey, picked by 33%. Only 5% planned to stay in luxury hotels. Dragon Trail’s Sienna Parulis-Cook said the market is more cost-sensitive than before, with travelers paying closer attention to value for money, in comments reported by Reuters. Chinese consumers are willing to spend on travel, yet they are more selective about where that money goes. Premium brands get a mixed signal from the Golden Week data. Chinese travelers have the time and the appetite to go far, yet few plan to pay top price for a room. The money they do spend is more likely to follow the experience than the address.

What are the newest Golden Week travel trends?

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What are the newest Golden Week travel trends?

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