China’s Golden Week travel surge masks cautious consumer spending

BEIJING/HONG KONG – Chinese travellers are booking longer holidays and venturing farther afield for the 2026 National Day holiday, yet a prolonged slowdown in consumer spending means record travel volume may not translate into bigger spoils, analysts said.

Holidaymakers are combining the seven-day “Golden Week” beginning on Oct 1 with the Mid-Autumn Festival, which in 2026 fell on Sept 25, for a 13-day break.

Golden Week is typically a gauge of household spending. Yet in 2026, it coincides with weak consumer demand, deflationary pressure and a years-old property market downturn that touches mortgage holders, tenants and landlords alike.

While an extended holiday may promise a windfall for the tourism industry, with consumer spending near stagnant elsewhere in the economy, it is unclear whether the excitement of travel encourages travellers to splash out.

Travel volume rose during the 2025 Golden Week, yet average spending per trip was a three-year low of 911.04 yuan (S$173.60), Reuters calculations based on government data showed.

“Consumers still have a strong appetite for travel, but they remain cautious about how much they spend,” said Forthright Securities senior analyst Ailsa Liao.

“The result is a K-shaped spending pattern: Volumes can be strong even as spending per consumer remains under pressure.”

To support spending, the government launched a month-long “National Day Cultural and Tourism Consumption Month” campaign on Sept 22, alongside a 16-day peak rail transport period, with China Railway adding high-speed and overnight services.

Popular packages

Away from home, Shanghai-based Spring Tour said multi-country itineraries were popular in 2026.

“The most notable change in outbound travel is that tourists are willing to travel farther, which is why this year’s holiday outbound travel sales grew at a faster pace than last year’s,” it added.

Long-haul packages for Spain and Portugal, the Balkans, Northern Europe, Greece and New Zealand sold out by mid-August, Spring Tour said.

Routes to Central Asia, the Caucasus and Australia also sold out ahead of schedule. More than half of Spring Tour’s long-haul travellers whose plans spanned the extended holiday period departed before Sept 25.

Outbound demand was markedly stronger in 2026, said Sienna Parulis-Cook, director of marketing and communications at Dragon Trail International.

A survey the marketing firm conducted in August showed that 54% of respondents were planning overseas trips during the holiday period, versus 35% a year earlier.

“The market is more cost-sensitive than previously, with greater attention on getting value for money from the travel experience,” Parulis-Cook said.

Only 5% of respondents planned to stay in luxury hotels, with mid-range options the most popular choice at 33%, she said.

Of outbound flight bookings over the holiday period with Trip.com Group, more than half were for departures before Oct 1, with average duration exceeding nine days.

Bookings for hotel stays of at least seven nights rose 123% versus the Golden Week in 2025, while multi-destination itineraries climbed 84%, Trip.com said.

The extended holiday should produce record travel numbers, yet there is no evidence of a structural jump in daily spending, said Forthright Securities’ Liao.

Per capita tourism spending fell during both the 2025 National Day holiday and 2026 Spring Festival, Liao said.

“More travellers do not necessarily mean proportionately higher profits,” she said.

Beijing resident Kenny Zhao, a real estate company employee, said he plans to spend five days in Japan during the holiday.

“It feels like a waste to stay at home during such a long holiday,” he said. REUTERS