This year, the explosive overseas travel during China’s National Day Golden Week benefited from multiple favorable factors including an “extra-long” holiday, visa exemption policies, and economic recovery. In previous years, the National Day holiday lasted only 7 days, but this year with the addition of the Mid-Autumn Festival, it was extended to 8 days. People could also “combine leave” by taking 3 days off near the official holiday, forming a continuous 12-day break. The ultra-long holiday has greatly increased interest in outbound travel.
● Outbound Travel Bookings Surge by 1.3 Times
Wu Chen, chairman of major Chinese travel company GZL, stated that visa convenience is an important factor for many young customers when deciding to travel abroad. According to the company's recently released “2025 National Day Outbound Travel Trend Report”, the number of destinations accessible to Chinese travelers with visa exemption or visa on arrival has further expanded this National Day, with some countries having also opened direct flight routes. Instantly, these destinations have transformed from previously “off-the-beaten-path” to market “dark horses”, such as Central Asia’s Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the three South Caucasus countries (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan), and four Balkan countries (Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania). Additionally, with the rollout of e-visa channels, travel to South Africa is also expected to see a year-on-year increase of over 30%.
This year, the A-share stock market has performed strongly. Data suggests that for every 1 trillion RMB (591.9 billion MYR) increase in total A-share market capitalization, it can drive a roughly 0.5% increase in total social retail consumption. This “wealth effect” has enabled people to have more funds for outbound tourism. According to statistics from various travel platforms, outbound travel bookings during this Golden Week have soared 130% year-on-year, thanks in no small part to the stock market boosting consumers’ “confidence” in spending.
"The most obvious change brought by the extra-long holiday is that tourists can now go to more distant and niche destinations," Chen Xi, associate professor at the School of Sports, Leisure, and Tourism at Beijing Sport University, analyzed for China’s “CNJingwei”. She pointed out that this year's National Day travel pattern showed a “decentralized” trend: while traditional destinations like Japan and Thailand remain popular, emerging hotspots such as Egypt and Uzbekistan are seeing even faster growth. This new trend will prompt the industry to develop more “niche” routes to satisfy the diverse demands of Chinese travelers.