On the opening day of the National Day holiday, travelers converged on the roads of their getaways. According to data from Qunar, October 1 saw the number of hotel check-ins reach its holiday peak, with bookings in popular cities rising 20% year-on-year, and overall travel enthusiasm surpassing that of previous years.

"Heading north to chase autumn" and "going south for an off-season escape" both saw booking popularity double month-on-month, as holidaymakers collectively rushed toward the "wilderness" and toward ever more distant destinations. Qunar data shows that the top cities for hotel check-ins on the first day of the National Day holiday were Beijing, Chengdu, Nanjing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Changsha, Hangzhou, Qingdao, Wuhan, and Guiyang.

Northern autumn chasers and southern off-season travelers: National Day belongs to office workers

National Day is the main stage for office workers. Qunar data shows that on the first day of the holiday, more than half of air passengers were working professionals aged 23 to 40. Escaping the cubicle and "rushing toward the wilderness" has become the new mainstream for these traveler-workers. Qunar data shows that on the first day of the holiday, long-distance routes of over 2,000 kilometers saw popularity rise more than 40% year-on-year. Qinghai, Xinjiang's Altay, and other places enjoying their "peak season" of autumn colors were the hottest, driving search volume for "autumn-chasing routes" up 230% week-on-month. On the first day of the holiday, flight bookings to Altay in Xinjiang rose 78% year-on-year, while hotel bookings in Haibei, Qinghai, increased 86%.

Some headed further north, rushing toward northern autumn colors and snow and ice. Qunar data shows that the combination of autumn colors and snow and ice drove an early warming of ice-and-snow tourism around the Songhua River and Beidahu, with hotel bookings in Baishan, Jilin, rising 40%. Others headed south to "catch the tail of summer." Haikou in Hainan became one of the top 10 cities for flight bookings on the first day of the holiday, with visitors flying to Qionghai increasing 86%.

The "wilderness" is not just a geographical location but also a spiritual one. On the first day of National Day, many people had already plunged into Xinjiang, Tibet, western Sichuan, and the Qinghai-Gansu region in search of spiritual relaxation. Among them, this year's "kora" craze drove a full-scale warming of tourism across Tibet, with hotel bookings in Ngari rising twofold year-on-year and Nagqu increasing 1.2 times.

It is worth noting that on September 28, four high-speed railways — the Xiongshang, Xikang, Yixing, and Hayi lines — opened for operation on the same day, significantly boosting the National Day popularity of surrounding small towns. Qunar data shows that search volume for third-tier and lower-tier small towns along these high-speed rail lines rose more than 70% month-on-month. Among them, Tianmen in Hubei along the Yixing High-Speed Railway saw National Day hotel bookings rise more than 50% year-on-year; Liaocheng in Shandong along the Xiongshang section of the Beijing-Hong Kong High-Speed Railway saw hotel bookings rise 24% year-on-year; the Hayi High-Speed Railway drove hotel bookings in Hulan, Heilongjiang, up 20%; and the Xikang High-Speed Railway boosted hotel popularity in Zhashui by 20%.

From "staying in one place" to "stringing together a route": visitors staying in 4+ cities up 53%

"Request 3 days off, rest 13" became a mainstream choice this double holiday period, with many hitting the road as early as Mid-Autumn Festival. Qunar data shows that on October 1, one-fifth of travelers had already checked into hotels in their second or even third city. Qunar data shows that during this year's double holiday, orders for "multi-city base travel" involving hotel bookings in two or more cities grew 30%, with average hotel stay duration exceeding three days per person. Notably, travelers booking three cities and four or more cities increased 35% and 53% year-on-year respectively, showing a trend where "the more cities stayed in, the more significant the growth."

In this "multi-city travel" wave, travelers from first-tier cities are the main force. Qunar data shows that nearly 70% of National Day multi-city travelers came from first-tier and new first-tier cities, and among their destinations, the share of third-tier and lower-tier cities climbed from 25% two years ago to nearly 40%. Unlike the previous "special forces" style of travel, most of these travelers, after arriving at a destination by major transport, choose two or three cities along the way as "bases" for accommodation and then drive to surrounding cities. They stay longer in each city and explore more deeply. Qunar data shows that this double holiday, users choosing self-driving trips of three to seven days accounted for nearly 70%, with the average car rental duration reaching 5.7 days. Urumqi, Chengdu, Guiyang, Kunming, and Sanya had the highest self-driving tourism popularity.

Rushing to county towns is no longer "reverse tourism" but a "nationwide trend." Qunar data shows that on the first day of the National Day holiday, platform users would check into hotels in more than a thousand county towns across the country. Jiuzhaigou County, Yangshuo in Guangxi, Antu County in Jilin, Pingtan in Fujian, Burqin in Xinjiang, Wuyuan in Jiangxi, and Xiaojin County in Sichuan remained the top choices for popular county-level accommodation.

Drama by day, lights by night: young people flock to "story-rich" scenic spots

In the past, travel revolved more around "where to go." Today, more people set off for the sake of "a story." "Performance going downstream" is spreading across the country and becoming a pivot for small towns to attract visitor flows. When night falls, riverside water streets, ancient town lantern fairs, and nighttime canyon tours seamlessly capture consumption, making "the later the night, the more exciting" the new normal for small-town cultural tourism. Qunar data shows that on the first day of the National Day holiday, ticket search volume for scenic spots tagged with "immersive performance," "fireworks show," and "night tour" rose more than 50% year-on-year.

On the first day of the holiday, thanks to ancient town night views, cliff night tours, and immersive intangible cultural heritage lantern fairs, Gexian Village Resort and Wangxian Valley became top-five scenic spots by booking volume. Hebei's Tangshan Hokou Old Street scenic area, with its water night tours and live performances, made visitors feel as if they had "traveled" into a painting, also ranking in the top five by popularity. Jiangsu's Huai'an Journey to the West Park features float parades, water dance shows, and drone performances, while Linyi's Langya Ancient City hosts hundreds of immersive performances daily, both entering the national top 10 by booking volume. Qunar data shows that on October 1, the scenic spots with the highest ticket bookings were: Jiuzhaigou in Aba, Gexian Village in Shangrao, Hokou Old Street in Tangshan, Wangxian Valley in Shangrao, Mount Tai in Tai'an, Langya Ancient City in Linyi, Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanghai Disneyland, Wuyuan Huangling in Shangrao, and Universal Beijing Resort.

The Qunar Big Data Research Institute reminds travelers that as of now, popular scenic spots such as Jiuzhaigou, Tengwang Pavilion, Daocheng Yading, and the Sanxingdui Museum have issued notices that tickets for certain dates during the National Day period are sold out. Travelers planning to visit are advised to double-check ticket availability before departure to avoid a wasted trip.

There are almost no under-the-radar domestic destinations left, and many travelers have set their sights on overseas destinations. Judging from outbound flight bookings, the "three-hour flight radius" remains the stable foundation of outbound tourism.