China’s National Day Holiday Boosts Tourism, With Smaller Spend Per Tourist, Here’s What You Need To Know

Published on October 12, 2025

In China, nan 8-day National Day and Mid-Autumn holidays mixed (from September 29 to October 6, 2025) saw nan state scope highest recreation activity pinch 2.43 cardinal location trips being made. During nan holidays, nan mean 304 cardinal regular trips made celebrated nan country’s post-pandemic home travel. With nan magnitude of travelers, however, nan alteration successful spending per caput indicated ‘more trips, little spend’ was becoming nan reinforced recreation culture.

With trends showing nan changing holidays, nan summation successful travel, and nan acquisition focused backed by little spending made successful nan caller years is showing affirmative betterment successful nan market’s turnover.

Record Travel Numbers but Lower Spending

According to nan Chinese Ministry of Transport, home tourism generated a monolithic 888 cardinal trips during nan vacation period, translating into a staggering $111.4 cardinal (¥809 billion) successful spending. However, this full reflects a flimsy diminution successful per-person regular spending compared to 2024. In 2025, visitors spent an mean of $12.54 (¥113.88) per day, down from $14.39 (¥130.87) nan erstwhile year. This displacement successful spending behaviour indicates that while group are walking much than ever, they are doing truthful pinch a tighter budget.

The alteration successful regular expenditure is portion of a broader inclination wherever Chinese visitors are becoming much selective successful really they walk their money, often prioritizing experiences complete shopping aliases luxury purchases. As a result, nan tourism manufacture must accommodate to these changes by offering much affordable yet enriching recreation experiences that align pinch nan evolving desires of modern Chinese travelers.

Domestic Travel Booms Across Multiple Regions

The vacation play saw a emergence successful each types of home travel, pinch notable increases successful obstruction and aerial travel, which roseate by 2.6% and 3.4%, respectively. Highway trips surpassed 2.25 billion, an summation of 6.5%, highlighting nan increasing value of roadworthy recreation for Chinese tourists. This roar successful home tourism indicates that much Chinese citizens are opting to research their ain country, whether for leisure aliases family visits, arsenic nan country’s extended carrier web makes recreation much accessible and affordable.

Long-haul recreation wrong China besides surged, pinch flights and obstruction journeys covering distances greater than 3,200 km seeing a 14% increase. Routes to Xinjiang, a region successful nan acold northwest of China, were peculiarly popular. The emergence successful long-distance recreation reflects a displacement towards exploring much distant and little often visited parts of nan country, arsenic visitors look to uncover caller destinations beyond nan awesome municipality centers for illustration Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

Surge successful Cross-Border Travel and Niche International Destinations

Another cardinal item of nan vacation play was nan crisp emergence successful cross-border travel. Over 16.3 cardinal world trips were made, up 11.5% compared to erstwhile years. A important driver of this maturation was nan accrued number of visa-free entries, which surged by 46.8%. Countries specified arsenic Iceland, Norway, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt saw an uptick successful Chinese tourists, highlighting nan rising request for niche world destinations.

This displacement toward world recreation is peculiarly important successful ray of China’s increasing mediate class, which now has nan intends to recreation much often abroad. Despite tighter spending, nan desire for caller and unsocial experiences is driving travelers to research little accepted locations, alternatively than nan emblematic tourist-heavy spots successful Europe and nan U.S. This inclination signals that nan Chinese tourism marketplace is progressively diversifying its recreation preferences, pinch a increasing appetite for taste and off-the-beaten-path destinations.

Small-Town Tourism and Non-Tier-1 Luxury Hotels See Significant Growth

One of nan astir absorbing developments from this year’s vacation play is nan roar successful small-town tourism. As visitors look for quieter, much affordable alternatives to nan heavy trafficked cities, bookings successful complete 2,000 smaller counties crossed China roseate significantly. This inclination has provided a boost for non-tier-1 luxury hotels, pinch bookings expanding by 90% compared to erstwhile years.

The emergence of small-town tourism reflects nan displacement successful Chinese travelers’ preferences for slower, much immersive recreation experiences. These visitors are seeking places that connection authentic section culture, history, and nature-based experiences, each while avoiding nan crowds that often travel large metropolis destinations. This displacement is helping to equilibrium nan travel of visitors passim nan country, distributing economical benefits much evenly and providing caller opportunities for regions that were antecedently overlooked by mainstream tourism.

Shifting Focus from Shopping to Experiences

One noticeable displacement successful Chinese tourism is nan declining attraction connected shopping, peculiarly high-end retail. Movie summons income dropped by 13% to $2.5 cardinal (¥18.35 billion), while film-themed tours grew by 50%, showing that visitors are now prioritizing experiences complete worldly purchases. This inclination is besides reflected successful nan emergence of performance and sports tourism, pinch tier-3 to tier-5 cities seeing a 34% summation successful section shows, and euphony show attendance surging by 66.6%.

In addition, large-scale events specified arsenic nan Beijing China Open tennis tourney led to a 116% spike successful edifice bookings, proving that experiences, particularly those related to sports and taste events, are now astatine nan forefront of Chinese tourists’ minds. This displacement has created caller opportunities for destinations and work providers to capitalize connected this increasing request for experience-driven tourism.

Service Sector Dominates Over Goods successful Spending Patterns

The vacation information besides highlights a increasing displacement successful spending patterns, pinch service-sector gross expanding by 7.6% compared to a humble 3.9% maturation successful nan equipment sector. This indicates that Chinese visitors are spending much connected services for illustration dining, entertainment, and wellness activities alternatively than purchasing tangible goods. This inclination aligns pinch nan broader move toward experience-based tourism, wherever visitors are progressively consenting to put successful unsocial experiences alternatively than worldly items.

The government’s efforts to support section tourism person besides played a domiciled successful this shift. Over 29,000 taste events were organized nationwide, and visitors were encouraged to usage $66 cardinal (¥480 million) successful vouchers to acquisition section attractions. This inaugural helped steer spending toward taste and leisure experiences, further enhancing nan maturation of nan service-oriented tourism market.

Changing Trends and Opportunities for nan Tourism Industry

We person observed trends related to tourer behaviour during nan holidays successful China for 2025. The summation successful recreation shows nan volition to “travel much but walk less” which suggests a displacement to much deliberate spending successful tourism. Cultural and unsocial experiences look to beryllium successful precocious request and petition for affordable experiences tourism is growing. The liking successful niche and comparatively chartless world destinations for recreation suggests China’s visitors behaviour is changing.

For nan tourism sector, specified shifts successful behaviour coming caller challenges and caller possibilities. There is simply a request for a displacement successful business models to supply genuine, one-of-a-kind experiences while alleviating nan pricing issues. Businesses to request to displacement their business models to alleviate nan pricing issues. The summation successful spending connected a work and tourism to mini towns are affirmative indicators that nan assemblage is developing, monetarily and structurally.