China marks a record ‘Super Golden Week’

12-10-25

China wrapped up its ‘Super Golden Week’—the rare overlap of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day—with numbers that set a new bar for mobility and domestic tourism. According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, from October 1 to 8 there were 888 million domestic trips and tourism spending reached 809 billion yuan, roughly US$114 billion, underscoring the strength of consumer demand in the world’s largest outbound market. These figures comfortably surpassed last year’s tallies and confirm a sustained return of traveler confidence after the pandemic.

The scale of the surge was also visible in the transport system. Preliminary data from the Ministry of Transport estimated 2.43 billion passenger journeys over the eight-day period—an average of 304 million trips per day, up 6.2% year on year. On October 1, the first day of the break, the railways set a single-day record with 23.13 million passengers, about 8% more than in 2024, cementing the train’s role as the backbone of national connectivity in peak seasons. Civil aviation and waterway travel likewise recorded passenger increases versus the same period a year earlier.

Beyond volume, the ‘Super Golden Week’ delivered a powerful economic pulse. The estimated 809 billion yuan in domestic tourism consumption represents an increase of around 15% over 2024, based on official data and sector assessments. The 2025 edition was therefore the most lucrative since reopening, highlighting the pull of local campaigns that blended culture, gastronomy and outdoor experiences to spread spending beyond flagship destinations. While value-for-money options remain popular, the aggregate behavior suggests families have put travel back near the top of their consumption basket.

The momentum was not confined to the home market. Outbound flows to nearby destinations were evident in Hong Kong, which saw more than 1.4 million cross-border arrivals from mainland China during the holiday. Although the tally fell slightly short of expectations of returning to pre-pandemic levels, the performance reflects a steady recovery in cross-border tourism and deeper integration of short-haul products—especially shopping, dining and urban leisure.

For companies across the ecosystem—from airlines and rail operators to OTAs and hotels—this demand spike carries operational and strategic implications. Immediately, it reinforces the need for flexible capacity to absorb traffic peaks, smarter pricing, and a stronger end-to-end traveler experience through digital solutions, from frictionless purchase to real-time disruption management. Strategically, the numbers reaffirm the potential of long holidays as an economic stimulus and a tool for territorial dispersal, opening opportunities for second-tier destinations that, with cultural programming and public-private partnerships, succeeded in capturing a share of incremental spend. The takeaway for the next season is to double down on mobility data, sharpen segmentation and strengthen sustainability: more rail and public transit to ease bottlenecks, flow management at hotspots, and environmental standards that preserve experience quality.

Looking ahead to year-end and the major peaks of 2026, the message is clear: pent-up demand is over, and the Chinese market is operating with a new normal of high volume, higher price sensitivity and a keen search for value across destinations and services. With 888 million domestic trips, close to US$114 billion in spending and a record 2.43 billion total passenger journeys, the 2025 ‘Super Golden Week’ becomes a benchmark for public and private planners alike. The priority now is to sustain the momentum without losing sight of offer diversification, service quality and the operational resilience demanded by an increasingly informed and exacting traveler.

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