Golden autumn October arrives with red flags flying high. During this year's National Day holiday, public demand for tourism and family visits was strong, and the volume of cross-regional personnel movement across society continued to rise.

From October 1 to 7, cross-regional personnel movement across the country reached 2.142 billion trips, averaging 306 million trips per day, up 0.6% year-on-year (calculated on the basis of the 8-day average daily figure for the 2025 Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, the same below). Among these figures: railway passenger volume reached 151.87 million trips, averaging 21.70 million trips per day, up 12.7% year-on-year; highway personnel movement reached 1.96182 billion trips, averaging 280.26 million trips per day; waterway passenger volume reached 10.93 million trips, averaging 1.56 million trips per day, up 7.1% year-on-year; and civil aviation passenger volume reached 16.92 million trips, averaging 2.42 million trips per day, roughly flat compared with the same period last year.

Data from China State Railway Group showed that during the seven-day holiday, multiple national railway indicators hit record highs. On the first day of the National Day holiday, national railway passenger volume reached 25.204 million trips, setting a record high for single-day passenger volume. During the seven days of the holiday, single-day passenger flow exceeded 20 million trips on six days.

Ahead of this year's National Day holiday, several new high-speed rail lines opened on the same day, adding more than 1,100 kilometers to China's high-speed rail operating mileage. During this National Day holiday, new lines formed new networks, providing travel convenience for passengers along the routes while also stimulating holiday consumption vitality.

China's National Day Golden Week Boosts Global Travel Spending

According to a notice from the National Immigration Administration, during this year's National Day holiday, border inspection authorities nationwide handled a total of 15.462 million inbound and outbound trips by Chinese and foreign travelers, averaging 2.209 million trips per day, up 6.7% from the same period last year. The single-day peak for inbound and outbound clearance occurred on October 4, reaching 2.397 million trips.

Among these, outbound trips by mainland residents reached 4.444 million, up 9.3% from the same period last year; foreign nationals entering China totaled 682,000, with 505,000 entering under visa-free policies, up 5.4% and 9.2% respectively from the same period last year. A total of 732,000 inbound and outbound transportation vehicles (aircraft, ships, trains, and automobiles) were inspected, up 14.7% from the same period last year.

The continued popularity of Chinese tourists' outbound travel during the holiday has drawn sustained attention from overseas media. Australia's ABC reported on October 7 that Australia was one of the popular overseas travel destinations during this year's Chinese National Day Golden Week. As the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday were linked to form a longer break, the radius of Chinese tourists' outbound travel further expanded.

Citing data from the International Air Transport Association, ABC reported that bookings for flights from China to Australia in October 2026 increased by 19% compared with the same period in 2025. Australian tourism practitioners have also clearly felt the enthusiasm brought by the return of Chinese tourists. The head of a travel agency in Melbourne said that over the past week, the agency's bookings from Chinese tourists increased significantly, and two-day tours to the Great Ocean Road were fully booked.

From the perspective of the Australian market, Chinese tourists remain highly significant. In 2025, Chinese tourists were Australia's second-largest source market for international visitors, with more than 1.1 million visitors traveling to Australia for the year, up 18% year-on-year.

The enthusiasm of Chinese tourists for outbound travel has likewise spread to the South Korean market. South Korea's Maeil Business Newspaper reported on October 5 that driven by this year's holiday, demand among Chinese tourists for overseas travel increased significantly, and South Korea became one of the most favored overseas destinations for Chinese tourists. During this year's National Day holiday, South Korean department stores, duty-free shops, and convenience stores launched payment discounts and promotional activities targeting Chinese tourists.

At the same time, the consumption patterns of Chinese tourists have also changed. South Korean media noted that Chinese tourists are shifting from the previously more concentrated large group tours and high-value shopping toward more dispersed independent travel, experiential tourism, and quality-oriented consumption.