New extended Chinese national holidays for next year have just been announced, with more days off meaning more time to travel for the Chinese outbound market.
The 2026 Spring Festival holiday dates were announced by the General Office of the State Council earlier this month, detailing a 9-day consecutive holiday from the 15th of February to the 23rd. Included in this holiday period is the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, better known as the day before Chinese New Year’s Eve, which has sparked enthusiasm in the tourist market.
After the policy was shared with the public, data from popular tourism platforms saw a reported surge in traffic, as well as a general rise in searches for train tickets over the Spring Festival and New Year’s periods. A significant increase was reported in the demand for outbound flights during the Spring Festival, where searches immediately doubled.
Ctrip reports that the top international destinations for the extended Spring Festival holiday are Nagoya, Bali, Ho Chi Minh City, Kyoto and Hanoi. Spring Tour’s data also shows that searches for Spring Festival European tours increased by 200% on the day that the holiday dates were announced, and searches for popular European destinations such as Greece, Norway, Iceland, Serbia, Spain and the UK doubled. This data suggests that bookings for Europe over the Spring Festival will reach new highs.
The 9-day Spring Festival holiday was brought about for several reasons, notable ones including policy guidance, economic stimulus and public demand. Longer holidays often result in broader population mobility and better sustained consumption release: during the 2025 Spring Festival holiday, there were 501 million domestic trips and a staggering 677 billion RMB in tourism spending. It is anticipated that the 2026 Spring Festival will bring about growth for industries such as accommodation, transportation, catering and scenic sports.
In line with recent trends in Chinese tourism, the expansion of the holiday periods offers opportunities for in-depth, long-haul travel. It’s clear to see the transformation of demand from short stays to immersive experiences through market data and the upcoming Spring Festival is highly anticipated to reflect this.
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