On October 7, as the National Day holiday drew to a close, many tourists began their return journeys. Data released by multiple online travel platforms on the same day showed that during this year's "super golden week," Henan's culture and tourism market continued to heat up, with ancient capital heritage, mountain autumn scenery, and county-level vacations all gaining momentum simultaneously, and "local consumption" clearly accelerating.
Meituan data showed that during this year's National Day holiday, Henan's culture and tourism bookings increased by 21% year-on-year, with scenic spot bookings up 55% and hotel and homestay bookings up 11%. From the perspective of platform booking popularity, Luoyang, Zhengzhou, and Kaifeng ranked at the forefront of popular destinations within the province, with Luoyang securing the 6th spot in the national Top 10 popular travel destinations. Scenic areas such as Luoyi Ancient City, Wansui Mountain Wuxia City, Laojun Mountain, Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden, Yuntai Mountain, and Longmen Grottoes attracted significant tourist attention, among which Laojun Mountain, Wansui Mountain Wuxia City, and Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden entered the national Top 10 popular scenic spots for National Day travel.
It is worth noting that tourists' interest in scenic spots is shifting from "viewing scenery" to "entering the storyline." Fliggy data showed that during the holiday, ticket bookings for scenic spots featuring character interaction or immersive experiences increased by 60% year-on-year. Wansui Mountain Wuxia City and Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden ranked as the top two scenic spots for NPC interaction, transforming visitors from bystanders into participants through high-density NPC interactions and narrative-driven tour designs.
Among the "native tourism" trends observed by Fliggy, ancient villages such as Shibanyan Village in Linzhou, Anyang, gained momentum in the latter half of the holiday, allowing tourists to experience the joy of "being a local" in villages that have not been overly commercialized. The popularity of scenic spots further extended to experiential consumption such as styling and travel photography. Meituan data showed that during the holiday, searches for "Wansui Mountain styling" increased by more than 180% year-on-year; on October 2, orders for ethnic costume travel photography in Kaifeng increased by 181% year-on-year. During the National Day period, the Kaifeng Municipal Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, together with Meituan and scenic spots such as Hanyuan Stele Forest, launched the "National Day Hanfu Styling Season," attracting nearly 100 Hanfu styling merchants to participate.
The growth in the accommodation market was equally notable. Meituan data showed that during the holiday, hotel bookings in Xinxiang increased by approximately 49% year-on-year, while high-star hotel bookings in its subordinate Huixian City increased by approximately 246% year-on-year; high-star hotel bookings in Luoyang's Old Town district increased by approximately 150% year-on-year, with Luanchuan County nearly doubling; hotel bookings in Kaifeng increased by approximately 65% year-on-year, while Xinyang and Nanyang grew by approximately 33% and 25% respectively.
Tongcheng Travel data also showed that hotel and homestay booking popularity in Kaifeng increased by more than 50% year-on-year, while hotel booking popularity in Luoyang increased by nearly 60% year-on-year, with growth rates ranking among the top among major tourist cities nationwide; during the holiday period, accommodation booking popularity across Henan Province achieved double-digit growth compared to the same period last year, with growth rates ranking among the highest nationwide.
Both cities offered rich nighttime cultural and tourism experiences, with ancient capital night tours, live performances, and distinctive cultural tourism markets drawing high foot traffic. Kaifeng's Wansui Mountain Wuxia City and Luoyang's Lijing Gate were both popular night tour attractions. Night tours effectively retained visitors and amplified the vitality of overnight consumption.
Additionally, county-level tourism became a standout highlight of this year's Henan market. Tongcheng Travel data showed that Xiuwu County in Jiaozuo made the national "dark horse" county-level destination Top 10, with hotel and scenic spot booking popularity increasing by more than 200% year-on-year. The autumn landscapes of Yuntai Mountain and Fenglin Gorge were widely favored by tourists, with canyon red leaves and mountain study tours attracting large numbers of families and young visitors. Many tourists avoided crowded downtown areas and chose to visit smaller cities, making county-level self-driving tours and mountain autumn scenery viewing mainstream options.