China's travel and consumption surge during National Day and Mid-Autumn Holiday

Editor's note: Liu Xiangyan is an associate researcher and director of the Institute of International Studies at China Tourism Academy. The article reflects the author's opinion and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

During this year's combined National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, China's consumption showed steadily rising vitality. According to the Ministry of Commerce's big data monitoring, in the first four days of the holiday, sales at key retail and catering enterprises nationwide increased by 3.3 percent year on year. Commodity consumption featuring "green + smart" products also expanded rapidly during the same period, with first-tier energy-efficient home appliances, smart refrigerators, and smart-home devices each achieving double-digit growth on major e-commerce platforms. Spending on entertainment and leisure services was also active, with total box office revenue for the National Day film season (including pre-sales) exceeding 1.8 billion yuan ($253 million).

This year's National Day coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival, and with the addition of weekends and two adjusted workdays, it created an eight-day holiday. Thanks to the historically pleasant autumn weather experienced by much of the country, the National Day break has long been regarded as a golden week for travel. According to statistics from the Ministry of Transport, between October 1 and 8, 2025, the total number of cross-regional trips nationwide was estimated at 2.4 billion, averaging 304 million trips per day, a 6.2 percent year-on-year increase. Among them, self-driving travel accounted for about 80 percent of all trips.

With the help of "leave-stretching" strategies, this year's eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday was effectively extended into a 12- to 16-day super holiday, injecting strong momentum into the travel and tourism market. Longer vacations and improved income expectations encouraged people to travel farther afield. According to the data from Trip.com (Ctrip), the share of domestic long-distance travel orders on the platform increased by 3 percentage points compared with last year. According to data from Tuniu (an online travel agency specialized in package tours in China), 46 percent of domestic long-distance travelers during the National Day holiday chose itineraries lasting five to six days. As people traveled farther and stayed longer, they also spent more. Based on overall booking data from Meituan and Tongcheng Travel, spending on domestic long-distance tourism products rose by more than 20 percent year on year, reflecting a clear shift from quantity-driven to quality-oriented holiday consumption.

Against the backdrop of a growing demand for in-depth travel experiences, more lesser-known destinations are entering travelers' itineraries. According to Meituan Travel data, during this year's holiday period, booking volume for both county-level destinations around major cities increased by 51 percent year on year. As people explore more niche destinations, an increasing number of travelers are immersing themselves in local public spaces and leisure venues, aiming to experience everyday life like residents. Since September, searches for keywords such as "local recommendations" and "local specialties" on Meituan and Dianping have surged 438 percent year on year, underscoring travelers' growing preference for authentic, locally grounded experiences.

Generation Z is becoming the main force in China's travel market. According to data from Fliggy, people born between 1995 and 1999 (the post-95 generation) took the lead during this year's holiday period, accounting for nearly one-quarter of all bookings, the highest share among all age groups. Meanwhile, those born after 2005 have begun traveling independently, with the number of their bookings surging 61 percent year on year, marking the fastest growth in share. This younger generation more values individualized experiences and emotional fulfillment, showing a strong preference for interactive immersive experiences at scenic sites, traditional makeup experiences, among many others.

During this year's National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, tourism consumption reached new levels but also revealed underlying challenges. Popular destinations such as the Palace Museum in Beijing were overcrowded. Meanwhile, niche destinations faced weak infrastructure, with limited parking, few restrooms, etc. Some "immersive experiences" and "heritage displays" lacked genuine interaction or creativity, and excessive commercialization diluted the authenticity of certain cultural landmarks. Despite these challenges, the cultural and spiritual dimension of holiday consumption is strengthening, as travelers increasingly value meaningful and immersive experiences, signaling a transition in China's tourism industry from quantitative expansion to qualitative improvement.