China set for bumper ‘golden week’ travel rush in boost for economy
Travel operators report an uptick in demand for the coming National Day holiday, which should lift China’s consumer spending
China is likely to see a bumper surge in travel bookings for the coming “golden week” holiday – one of the country’s most important travel periods of the year – providing a much-needed boost to consumer spending.
Early data from Chinese travel operators shows strong demand for both domestic and international trips over the eight-day public holiday beginning on October 1, which combines the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day.
China’s railways are expected to handle some 219 million passenger trips over the 12 days from September 29 to October 10, the railway authority announced on Monday, when tickets for the first day of the travel period went on sale.
The network handled 177 million passenger trips over 10 days during last year’s travel rush – including a record-high 21.4 million in a single day on October 1.
Searches for domestic flights were up 30 per cent year on year in early September, with ticket prices remaining on par with last year’s levels, online travel agency Tongcheng said.
Travel platform Fliggy also reported year-on-year increases in bookings for flights, trains and car rentals. Car rental bookings for multi-destination trips were up 93 per cent compared with the same period last year, the company said.