China's government has published its final numbers for the 2026 National Day "Golden Week", and they confirm what the early data suggested: more people travelled, but each traveller spent a little less.

Chinese residents made 826 million domestic tourist trips during the seven-day holiday from 1 to 7 October, spending 738.38 billion yuan (about US$109.7 billion), Xinhua reported on 9 October, citing the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. On a daily-average basis, trips rose 6.3% and spending rose 4.3% from last year.

This article updates our Golden Week preview with early data, published on 6 October, with the official full-holiday totals.

Why the headline totals are lower than last year

The raw totals are below 2025, but that is mainly because this year's break was a day shorter. In 2025, National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival fell together, creating an eight-day holiday from 1 to 8 October. That holiday produced 888 million domestic trips and 809 billion yuan in spending, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism figures reported by Xinhua via China Daily on 9 October 2025.

In 2026 the Mid-Autumn Festival came earlier, on 25 September, so the two holidays were separate. That is why the ministry compares daily averages.

Measure 2025 (8 days, 1–8 Oct) 2026 (7 days, 1–7 Oct) Change
Domestic tourist trips 888 million 826 million -7.0% total; +6.3% daily average
Domestic tourism spending 809 billion yuan 738.38 billion yuan -8.7% total; +4.3% daily average
Spending per trip 911.04 yuan 893.92 yuan -1.9%
Cross-regional passenger trips (all transport) about 2.43 billion 2.14 billion 304m a day (2025) vs 306m a day (2026)

Sources: Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Ministry of Transport via Xinhua (totals, daily averages and daily-average changes); spending-per-trip figures and the -1.9% change are Reuters calculations. The -7.0% and -8.7% total changes are NDNews calculations from the official figures.

Spending per trip falls to lowest since 2022

The key detail for businesses is that spending grew more slowly than trips. Average spending per domestic trip was 893.92 yuan, down 1.9% from 911.04 yuan a year earlier, according to Reuters calculations reported by AsiaOne on 9 October. That is the lowest level since 2022, when Covid-19 restrictions pushed it down to 680.60 yuan.

The same report showed other soft spots:

  • Cinema: holiday box office takings were 1.16 billion yuan, down 36.6% year on year and the weakest National Day result since 2014, according to Maoyan data cited by Reuters. Citi analysts blamed a "lack of blockbusters" and holidaymakers choosing to travel instead.
  • Hotels: Jefferies, citing InnHome data, said revenue per available room fell 0.5% year on year between 1 and 5 October, and average daily room rates fell about 2%.

"Consumers are willing to travel farther, but they are still spending selectively," Ailsa Liao, senior analyst at Forthright Securities, said, according to Reuters.

Movement around the country was roughly flat. The Ministry of Transport counted 2.14 billion cross-regional passenger trips, or 306 million a day, compared with 304 million a day during the 2025 holiday.

Subsidies and services held up better

Beijing's consumer trade-in programme gave goods sales some support. Over the first six days of the holiday, trade-in sales reached 33.48 billion yuan and benefited 6.39 million consumers, Xinhua reported. The same report said the Ministry of Commerce recorded a 2.5% rise in foot traffic and a 4.7% rise in revenue across 78 monitored shopping districts in that period.

Those gains were smaller than in the first three days, when the ministry reported foot traffic up 3.4% and turnover up 5.3%. This suggests momentum cooled as the week went on.

Services did better. Xinhua cited official data showing average daily service-sector sales up 19.5% year on year, with tourism and entertainment sales up 23.6% and catering up 9%. Xinhua also reported that the fourth and final batch of ultra-long special treasury bonds for the trade-in scheme, worth 62.5 billion yuan, had been allocated, bringing this year's total to 250 billion yuan.

Outbound travel: Asia is the big winner

For Southeast Asia, the stronger story was outbound travel. The National Immigration Administration recorded 15.46 million inbound and outbound border crossings, averaging 2.21 million a day, up 6.7%. Mainland residents made more than 4.44 million outbound trips, up 9.3%, faster than the growth in domestic trips.

Inbound travel also grew. Foreign nationals made 682,000 entries, up 5.4%, including 505,000 under visa-free policies, up 9.2%.

Asia took most of the flights. Data from the Flight Master platform, reported by the Global Times on 8 October, showed that 71.9% of international flights during the holiday went to Southeast and East Asia. South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia were the top three destinations, and daily international flight volume reached 94.9% of its 2019 level.

Destination data reflect this:

  • Thailand: Chinese arrivals reached 133,946 in the week of 27 September to 3 October, up 41.98% week on week and the largest of any market, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports reported by The Nation. Even so, Thailand's total foreign arrivals for the year to 3 October were 23.45 million, down 3.88%.
  • Hong Kong: the Hong Kong government said it received about 1.6 million visitors over 1–7 October, including more than 1.41 million from the mainland. That exceeded the mainland total for last year's eight-day holiday, and the overall hotel occupancy rate reached 90%.

Industry surveys pointed to longer, more price-conscious trips. A Dragon Trail International survey in August found 54% of respondents planned an overseas trip over the holiday, up from 35% a year earlier, Reuters reported on 29 September. Only 5% planned to stay in luxury hotels. Trip.com said bookings for overseas hotel stays of at least seven nights rose 123%.

What it means for APAC

For ASEAN tourism economies, the figures are good news on volume. Chinese travellers are going abroad in greater numbers, and most of them stay in Asia. But the drop in spending per trip at home suggests travellers may also be careful with money abroad. Destinations that depend on high-spending tour groups may see more visitors than revenue.

For Thailand in particular, the Golden Week jump helps, but it has not reversed a weaker year overall. You can compare the wider picture in our Indonesia vs Thailand economy comparison.

What to watch

  • September inflation data: China's National Bureau of Statistics is due to publish September consumer and producer prices on 14 October, according to its 2026 release calendar, which says dates are preliminary. Consumer prices rose 0.8% year on year in August.
  • Third-quarter data: retail sales and GDP figures, scheduled for 19 October in the same NBS calendar, will show whether holiday spending carried over into the wider economy.
  • Year-end travel: Shanghai travel agency Spring Tour told Reuters that "demand for outbound travel is expected to continue gaining momentum in the fourth quarter and through next year".

Key numbers

  • 826 million domestic tourist trips, 1–7 October (+6.3% daily average)
  • 738.38 billion yuan domestic tourism spending (+4.3% daily average)
  • 893.92 yuan average spending per trip, down 1.9%, the lowest since 2022 (Reuters calculation)
  • 15.46 million cross-border trips; 4.44 million outbound trips by mainland residents (+9.3%)
  • 71.9% of holiday international flights went to Southeast and East Asia
  • 1.16 billion yuan holiday box office, down 36.6%
  • 1.41 million+ mainland visitors to Hong Kong

This is general information, not financial advice.

This article was researched with AI assistance and reviewed by the NDNews editorial team. It is based on official data and media reports as of 10 October 2026.