China recorded 826 million domestic tourist trips during this year’s seven-day National Day holiday, all the while tourism spending reached 738.38 billion yuan, approximately US$109.67 billion, according to figures released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on 9 October.
The ministry said the average number of daily trips increased by 6.3% compared with the eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in 2025. Average daily tourism spending also rose by 4.3% year on year. The comparison is based on daily averages for the last year’s holiday period was longer.
Tourism demand was supported by a wide range of cultural, entertainment and sporting activities: the ministry reported that 180 large-scale performances took place across the country, including 125 concerts and 55 music festivals. These events formed part of a wider effort to combine tourism with culture, commerce and entertainment.
Around 40% of visitors also visited revolutionary sites or attended activities such as flag-raising ceremonies and patriotic performances — the trend was particularly significant this year, which marks the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Long March.
Local authorities also distributed more than 310 million yuan in tourism and cultural consumption subsidies during a nationwide campaign running from late September through October.
These figures highlight the scale of China’s domestic tourism market and the growing importance of experiences beyond traditional sightseeing. Concerts, festivals, sporting events, historical attractions and cultural programmes are increasingly being used to encourage travel and spending.
The figure, though, measure trips rather than individual travellers — meaning that one person may have made more than one journey during the holiday. Nevertheless, they underline the continued contribution of domestic tourism to China’s wider consumer economy.
