What Golden Week 2026 Reveals About Chinese Consumer Confidence

China just wrapped up Golden Week, the annual 7-day public holiday beginning with National Day on October 1. This year was unique because the Mid-Autumn Festival fell on September 25-27, so millions of Chinese decided to take 3 vacation days in between the two festivals to get a 13-day vacation. 

The result was a boom in international travel. Travelers from China made 4.4 million outbound trips during this years National Day holiday, up 9.3 percent year-on-year. Asian destinations were popular, like South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. But longer-haul destinations saw significant growth, such as Australia, New Zealand, the US, Italy, and Greece. Less traditional holiday destinations like Uzbekistan also grew as Chinese travelers seek out unique experiences.  

A report from Trip.com Group highlighted the growth in long, international trips:  

• Long-haul flight bookings saw double-digit YoY growth.
• Bookings for hotel stays of seven nights and more are seeing a year-on-year (YoY) jump of 123%.
• Bookings for multi-destination itineraries have risen by 84% YoY.