Immersive experiences fuel inbound tourism boom over China's National Day holiday

China's inbound tourism market is seeing robust growth during the 2026 National Day holiday.

China's border crossings are expected to handle an average of about 2.15 million passenger trips per day during the holiday, according to the National Immigration Administration.

Data from Chinese online travel agency Trip.com showed that inbound tourist trips during the combine holiday posted double digit year-on-year growth for the first time. 

New trends are emerging in China's inbound tourism market, as overseas visitors move beyond traditional sightseeing, and increasingly immerse themselves in local life, culture and experiences.

Orders for one-day inbound tours surged more than fourfold year on year, while scenic spot ticket bookings jumped over 220%. Cultural attractions accounted for around 43% of inbound scenic spot bookings during the combined holiday, up from about 32% in 2024.

Traditional Chinese style photo shoots have also become a new source of tourism spending among foreign visitors. At Shanghai's Yu Garden, a popular destination for foreign tourists, they are dressing in traditional Chinese hanfu and taking ancient style photos against a backdrop of upturned eaves and traditional pavilions, embracing a new way to experience Eastern aesthetics.

Cultural performances are also offering foreign visitors new ways to experience and understand China. In Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan Province, shows such as "Charming Xiangxi" blend intangible cultural heritage with real mountain and water scenery, modern lighting and multilingual subtitles. By the end of September, the "Charming Xiangxi" theater had welcomed more than 140,000 overseas visitors this year.

In Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, the Huaqiangbei electronics market has emerged as a popular tech shopping destination for overseas visitors, who are captivated by AI translation glasses, smartwatches, humanoid robots, portable AI speakers and panoramic cameras.

The surge in inbound tourism was fueled by China's expanding visa-free policies. 

During this year's Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, from September 25 to 27, foreign nationals made 728,000 border crossings, up 37.7% year on year. Among inbound foreign visitors, a total of 247,000 entered under visa-free policies, an increase of 32.7% from a year earlier, data from the National Immigration Administration showed.

The growth in inbound travel is driven by the ongoing innovation in China's tourism offerings, experiences and consumption scenarios, giving international visitors more opportunities to engage with local culture and everyday life, said Li Xinjian, executive dean of the Capital Culture and Tourism Development Research Institute at Beijing International Studies University. 

Li added that China is increasingly becoming a destination where travelers can not only see the sights, but also immerse themselves in the experience.

(With inputs from Xinhua)