In 2026, China’s Spring Festival holiday will feature a 9-day stretch of time off, creating the “longest Spring Festival holiday in history” and stimulating a surge in outbound travel demand. According to data released on the 12th by online travel platform Tongcheng Travel, bookings for outbound travel products related to the Spring Festival have already entered a peak period. Searches and booking popularity for personal travel visas, air tickets, hotels, and group tours departing around the Spring Festival have all surpassed the same period in 2025.
According to a China News Service report, as a gathering place for overseas Chinese, Southeast Asia boasts a strong Spring Festival atmosphere and is the top choice for Chinese tourists wanting to celebrate the New Year abroad. As of the 12th, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, and Bali have all made it into the top ten most popular international air ticket destinations for the Spring Festival holiday.
Apart from Southeast Asian countries, the “Chinese New Year spirit” is also spreading to other nations. In February 2026, Moscow, the capital of Russia, will host the “Chinese Spring Festival Cultural Festival.” Among the top ten destinations for outbound vacation products during the Spring Festival holiday on the platform, Russia continues to rank first.
Driven by the “longest Spring Festival holiday in history,” long-haul outbound travel is on the rise. Destinations such as Spain, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, and Egypt have seen a significant increase in popularity, with year-on-year growth rates ranging from 63% to 155%, placing them among the top ten long-haul outbound travel destinations during the Spring Festival.
Notably, this year’s Spring Festival holiday has seen particularly high enthusiasm for outbound tourism from non-first-tier cities, especially central and western Chinese cities. Among the top fifteen sources of outbound travelers for the Spring Festival, cities such as Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, Urumqi, Taiyuan, and Changsha are all listed, accounting for around 40%. Eastern coastal cities remain the primary market for outbound travel, with Hangzhou standing out by overtaking Guangzhou to become the fourth largest source of outbound travelers, after only Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen.