Golden Week 2025, which took place from October 1 to October 8 this year, was one of the most anticipated travel periods for the Chinese Outbound Market. The rare overlap of China’s National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival created an extended eight-day holiday, triggering a powerful surge in both domestic and international travel. Now that the week has passed, we’re taking a close look at how outbound travel performed and what this year’s trends suggest about the future of Chinese tourism abroad.
Where are the Chinese going?
According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the total number of trips made across China during the Golden Week holiday reached 888 million, with consumers spending an impressive 809 billion yuan. In addition to the 888 million domestic trips, the Golden Week period recorded 16.34 million cross-border movements from Chinese tourists. Trip.com’s data indicates that outbound accommodation bookings surged by triple-digit percentages compared to the prior year, especially in popular international destinations, and more than 16,000 international flights were operated over the the holiday. So where did outbound travellers go?
The Chinese outbound travel market is showing signs of maturity and geographic diversification. Europe, the Middle East, and more remote destinations (e.g. Iceland and Norway) are becoming core components of outbound strategy. According to The European Travel Commission, 69% of Chinese travellers intend to visit Europe, and 30% of all outbound bookings via Ctrip during Golden Week were for European destinations. Research from Dragon Trail also shows positive growth in Europe, with traveller numbers to Norway and Iceland doubling year-on-year, while Spain, Italy, and Germany saw increases of around 70 %. When choosing a European holiday destination, travellers primarily prioritise safety (49%), must-see attractions (38%), and high-quality tourism infrastructure (35%).
Where are they flying from?
Shanghai is the dominant departure city for outbound travel from China, holding 26.3% share of the outbound flight slots. Beijing followed with 14.9% and Guangzhou was not far behind with 13.1%. Guangzhou is an extremely important departure point for the outbound travel market, and is the headquarters and one of the major hubs of China Southern Airlines. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is one of the busiest airports in Asia. The combined market share of these three Top Tier Cities’ departures reached 54% over Golden Week, an increase of 6.1% vs 2019.
Travel Market Recovery
Golden Week saw a high frequency of daily flights to destinations such as Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, UAE, and the UK, all of which have surpassed recorded levels from 2019. Chinese travellers continue to lead the global market, demonstrating a positive recovery of the Chinese outbound market to pre-pandemic levels and further opportunity for growth in the upcoming national holiday dates for 2026.
Who is travelling?
Gen Z and millennial travellers played a more pronounced role. Gen Z accounted for around 32% of outbound travellers, with silver-haired (older) tourists and millennial families making up significant shares as well.
Rising Demands for Experiential Travel
Booking lead times have advanced and Chinese travelers began making international bookings earlier in 2025 than in 2024. Compared to last year, the average lead time for international travel increased by almost five weeks. Longer trips have seen a surge in popularity, in contrast to the fast-paced, short-haul trips that have historically dominated the Chinese travel market. Evidently, travellers are no longer content with surface-level experiences or generic tour group packages. Instead, they are looking for depth, flexibility and stories to bring home. The desire for “experiential travel” is now mainstream. In future years, operators should start their Golden Week promotions earlier and develop products that respond directly to new travel motivations and their targeted customer segments.
One notable trend was the marked increase in the importance placed on “direct transportation routes,” with scores reaching 24%, a 4% year-on-year increase.
The main components of spending for overall long-haul travellers are dining (69%), tourism activities (50%), and shopping (47%). However, the overall market shows a clear “slow travel” trend. Long-haul travellers’ interest in both culture and cuisine has decreased by 4 percentage points each, while the preference for “slow travel” has risen by 4%, demonstrating that tourists are increasingly favoring a more relaxed and immersive style of experience.
Reach out to the Chinese travel trade in November
Golden Week 2025 gave us numbers and insight into China’s changing travel patterns. With the Lunar New Year and Spring festival 2026 ahead of us, now is the perfect time to promote your product to this crucial market. November and December are key planning and training months for the Chinese travel trade. Now is the right time to reach out. Guanxi has experience in working with Chinese Outbound Travel- if you’d like help getting your brand out there, contact us here.