A Global Migration Triggered by “Take 3, Rest 13”: How Chinese Travelers Are Reshaping the National Day Golden Week with Their Footsteps

The 2026 National Day Golden Week is destined to be different from any before. As the reunion spirit of the Mid-Autumn Festival lingers, the jubilation of National Day follows close behind. By requesting just three days of leave in between, an extraordinary 13-day extended holiday emerges. This is not only the longest travel window of 2026, but also a key that unlocks the long-suppressed outbound enthusiasm of Chinese travelers.

From the bustling metropolises of East Asia to the springtime fields of the Southern Hemisphere, from the millennia-old streets of Istanbul to the foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town, the footprints of Chinese travelers cover the globe with unprecedented density and breadth. This is no longer just a routine “Golden Week” getaway, but a global consumption narrative about “sheer numbers” and “high spending.”

The Sheer Numbers: From “Leave-Stacking Queues” to “Global Footprints”

If one word had to sum up the scale of this year’s National Day outbound travel, “far beyond expectations” would perhaps be the most fitting.

According to the China Traveler Intentions Report (September 2026) released by Dragon Trail International, among more than 1,000 surveyed Chinese travelers, 54% explicitly planned to travel abroad during the dual holidays — a sharp jump from 35% in the same period of 2025. This means that this autumn, more than half of potential travelers have set their sights beyond the national border.

This intent quickly translated into hard capacity data. China’s National Immigration Administration forecasts that average daily cross-border entries and exits at ports nationwide will reach about 2.2 million person-times or more during the Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays. Even before the National Day holiday began, international flight bookings had already surpassed 1.21 million, up about 4% year-on-year; in an earlier statistical window, that figure even exceeded 1.28 million. Data from TravelSky and FlightAI point to one fact: international civil aviation passenger volume maintained steady growth on a daily-average basis, with cross-border travel standing out among all travel modes.

What deserves even more attention is the trend of travelers “going farther.” Short-haul Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia remain the “bread and butter” of Chinese travelers, accounting for over 60% of orders, but the real growth lies in long-haul routes. Data from Tongcheng Travel shows that search interest for outbound travel products to Europe and Australia surged more than threefold month-on-month. On the Qunar platform, bookings for long-haul routes beyond 8,000 km grew over 30% year-on-year, while flight bookings to Cape Town, South Africa, skyrocketed 4.3 times.

The footprints of Chinese travelers are extending from traditional regional hubs to the farther-flung Southern Hemisphere, Southern Europe and even Latin America. As the data shows, Chinese travelers will leave their mark in more than 3,800 cities worldwide during this holiday.

The High Spending: Rising Per-Capita Budgets and the “Experience-First” Logic

Behind the massive crowds lies an equally striking tide of consumption.

In tandem with the growth in numbers is a notable rise in average spend per order. Yicai reports that during this Mid-Autumn–National Day period, bookings for outbound small-group tours and customized tours have been especially strong, directly pushing per-capita spending up more than 20% from the same period last year. In Dragon Trail International’s research, the most common individual outbound budget (including international transport and accommodation) fell in the 10,000–20,000 RMB range, accounting for 28%; respondents with a budget above 30,000 RMB made up 22%.

This high spending is not blind extravagance, but shows a distinct character of “rational upgrading.” Chinese travelers are abandoning the “sleep on the bus, pose for photos off the bus” check-in model, and instead pursuing more immersive and quality experiences.

One visible change is the lengthening of trip duration. Data from Trip.com Group shows that the average outbound itinerary during the Golden Week has exceeded 9 days, and bookings for hotel stays of 7 nights or more surged 123% year-on-year. Travelers are no longer in a hurry to “collect” multiple countries in a short time, but choose to slow down in one place. Tongcheng Travel’s data corroborates this: although multi-country tours remain popular (averaging 2.8 countries linked), the “puzzle-piece” style of superficial sightseeing is giving way to in-depth, destination-living experiences.

However, in their accommodation choices, Chinese travelers show a pragmatic side. Despite ample total budgets, as many as 33% chose mid-range hotels, 29% chose budget hotels, and only 5% planned to stay in luxury hotels. They allocate more of their budget to unique experiences: on the Fliggy platform, glacier hiking bookings grew 50%, skydiving nearly 80%, and whale-watching bookings soared 200%. This means Chinese travelers are more willing to pay for “experiences” than for mere material comforts.

Global “Harvest”: The Consumption Dividend from Southeast Asia to the Southern Hemisphere

This consumption force, combining scale and quality, is producing ripple effects worldwide.

Southeast Asia remains one of the biggest beneficiaries. The Tourism Authority of Thailand expects to receive about 250,000 Chinese visitors between September 25 and October 7, up 24% year-on-year, generating an estimated tourism revenue of about 1.15 billion baht — a 37% increase. The revenue growth notably outpaces the visitor growth, confirming the rise in Chinese travelers’ spending power. Flight bookings to Cebu, Philippines, surged 111% year-on-year, emerging as a dark horse.

In East Asia, South Korea has become the “big winner” of this holiday. Thanks to short flight times and abundant shopping and entertainment resources, Seoul ranks at the top of booking lists on multiple platforms. Trip.com data shows that international flight bookings to South Korea surged 91% year-on-year, while bookings to non-Seoul destinations such as Busan and Cheongju saw triple-digit growth.

For long-haul destinations, the “gold content” of Chinese travelers is even more prominent. Australia and New Zealand, enjoying spring, attract large numbers of travelers seeking off-season experiences. In Europe, France, Iceland and Germany, as well as African wildlife journeys, draw appeal not limited to the scenery itself, but extending to deep connections with culture, history and nature. As one analyst put it, “For young travelers, how they spend their holiday matters more than where they spend it.”

Conclusion

The 2026 National Day Golden Week saw China’s outbound travel market declare its strong return and structural upgrade with a string of solid data points.

The “Take 3, Rest 13” policy dividend is a catalyst that releases the suppressed desire for long-haul travel; but the deeper driving force comes from Chinese travelers’ curiosity about the world and their pursuit of quality of life. They are so numerous that airports and attractions around the world must re-adapt to this flow of visitors from the East; they spend generously, and know more clearly than ever what experiences they want.

When Chinese travelers are no longer satisfied merely with “having been there,” but pursue “having experienced” and “having lived,” this annual global migration is no longer a simple export of consumption, but a reshaping of the meaning of travel. The world is welcoming Chinese travelers anew, and Chinese travelers are embracing the world with a more mature, more discerning, and more abundant posture.

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Note: All figures in this translation are attributed in the source to Chinese domestic outlets (Dragon Trail International, China National Immigration Administration, Trip.com, Tongcheng, Qunar, Yicai, Fliggy, Tourism Authority of Thailand, etc.). For external/published use, verify each figure against its original citation; the 2026 numbers are largely forecasts/intentions and should be labelled accordingly.