Interface journalist |
"I feel that there are 100 million people everywhere", "People who travel on the first day are honest" and "Zhejiang tourists drive to Jingdezhen for 10 hours to eat chicken chops" … One after another, hot search entries pop up, taking turns to confirm the hot start of the Mid-Autumn Festival this year. The rare 8-day continuous holiday has also made generate, a cultural tourism market, show unprecedented heat and vitality.
Before the holiday, at the press conference held by the State Council Press Office, Xiong Jie, chief pilot of Civil Aviation Administration of China, said that during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, a variety of passenger flows overlapped with each other, and it is expected that civil aviation will usher in another passenger flow peak after the summer vacation. The forecast shows that the passenger traffic in the civil aviation market during the Mid-Autumn National Day holiday this year will reach 19.2 million passengers, an increase of 3.6% over the same period of last year, the highest level in the same period of history.
In terms of railways, the interface news learned from China State Railway Group Co.,Ltd. that the railway transportation during the Mid-Autumn Festival of National Day will last for 12 days from September 29th to October 10th. The national railways are expected to send 219 million passengers, and the passenger flow will peak on October 1st, with an average of about 13,000 passenger trains planned daily.
Hundreds of millions of people’s travel needs have been released in a centralized way, which has brought "splashing traffic" to major destinations and scenic spots. Interface news learned from Ctrip, Tongcheng and Qunar OTA platforms that on the first day of the holiday, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Xi ‘an, Nanjing, Shenzhen and Wuhan became popular destinations in China. The enthusiasm for outbound travel has also increased simultaneously, and the first-day orders of several destinations have increased year-on-year.
At the same time, on the first day of the holiday, the famous museums were "hard to find an appointment", and the passenger flow index of the Forbidden City increased by nearly 150% compared with usual; Popular scenic spots continue to dominate the list, and the scenic spots where people "get together" are mainly concentrated in natural scenic spots, theme parks and historical attractions. Top10 scenic spots with the highest ticket booking volume include Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan, Universal Resort in Beijing, Terracotta Warriors and Horses Scenic Area in Xi ‘an, Shaanxi, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Hunan, etc.
"At the peak of the first day of the long holiday, China Eastern Airlines plans to execute more than 3,200 flights and carry more than 460,000 passengers in a single day. Many domestic and international routes departing from Shanghai are close to full passengers." In the early morning of October 1, the person in charge of the station of China Eastern Airlines Hongqiao Airport said in an interview with media such as interface news.
According to the person in charge, compared with domestic routes, the performance of international routes exceeded expectations. On the first day of the long holiday, China Eastern Airlines plans to carry 450 international routes, carrying 70,000 passengers, and the passenger load factor of international routes leaving Hong Kong is as high as 90%. Among them, the international routes from Shanghai to Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, Milan, Paris, Moscow, London and other places are hot, and many routes are close to full passengers.
If it is extended to the whole holiday, due to the strong demand in the two-holiday tourism market, China Eastern Airlines has targeted encryption routes and upgraded its capacity in some hub destinations and tourist routes. During the Golden Week, China Eastern Airlines (including its Shanghai Airlines and China United Airlines) will invest 816 passenger planes, with an average daily flight volume of 3,174 flights and 988 passenger routes.
As the leading large-scale international aviation hub in China, Shanghai Hongqiao and Shanghai Pudong also ushered in the double growth of flight volume and passenger flow this Golden Week. The relevant person in charge of Shanghai Airport Group told the interface news that from October 1 ST to 8 th, the two major airports in Shanghai Pudong and Hongqiao are expected to have 19,000 flights (including 13,000 flights at Pudong Airport and 0.6 million flights at Hongqiao Airport), with an average daily flight of 2,366, a year-on-year increase of 2.5%; It is estimated that 3.141 million passengers will enter and leave Hong Kong (including 1.974 million passengers at Pudong Airport and 1.167 million passengers at Hongqiao Airport), with a daily average of 393,000 passengers, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%.
Looking back on the National Day in 2023 and 2024, the drama of the big diving of air ticket prices is constantly staged, and the topic of "losing thousands of dollars without starting" remains hot. Before the Golden Week this year, there are still many passengers with a glimmer of expectation, hoping to squat down to the moment when the ticket is "broken".
However, the desire of "waiting for the party" was finally frustrated by the strong passenger demand at a new high and the more rational price strategy of the airline company. Many passengers not only didn’t wait for the price reduction, but also watched the ticket price rise with the coming holidays.
According to the data provided by flight steward to Interface News, as of September 28th, the average price (naked fare) of pre-sale air tickets for the National Day holiday in 2025 was 804 yuan, while that for the same period in 2024 was 736 yuan, up 9.2% year-on-year. Tongcheng said that a few days before the holiday, the prices of popular domestic routes remained firm.
The interface news also learned from Qunar that as of October 1, the average price of air ticket payment on Qunar platform was: 1019 yuan and 1063 yuan on October 1 and October 2, respectively; October 7 and October 8 are 1044 yuan and 1083 yuan. This also means that this year’s Golden Week air ticket price has returned to a reasonable range, which has increased more certainty for both passengers and airlines.
The so-called "machine and wine are not separated", and the fiery civil aviation market is also a true portrayal of the hotel accommodation industry.
Huazhu Group told Interface News that during the "Eleventh" holiday this year, the overall booking rate of brand hotels under Huazhu increased by 3 percentage points compared with last year, and it showed a rising trend.
In terms of breakdown, the booking rate of hotels in all tier cities during the "Double Festival" this year exceeded that of last year. Among the first-tier cities, Beijing’s hotel reservation rate continues to rank first, which is 6 percentage points higher than that of Shenzhen and Shanghai, which are tied for second place; Among the second-tier and third-tier cities, the overall booking situation of coastal cities is hot, and the booking rates of Dalian, Tianjin, Yantai, Qingdao and Rizhao are in the forefront. Guangxi’s performance in this "Eleventh" holiday is very outstanding, and the hotel booking rate in Liuzhou, Guilin, Beihai, Chongzuo and Baise under its jurisdiction continues to rise, which is favored by consumers.
Huazhu Group also mentioned that the "Eleventh" holiday is the peak season for tourism and leisure travel, which has also led to an increase in the booking rate of high-end brands. According to the data, as of September 23rd, the booking rates of Huajiantang and Songpin brand hotels were ahead, and the booking rates of Grand Mercure, Spyker and other brand hotels also increased significantly compared with last year.
According to the data of the technology platform of Yilong Hotel under Tongcheng, the occupancy rate of Tingbo Hotel Changsha Wuyi Square Orange Island Store, Tingbo Hotel Changsha Provincial Museum Xiangya Hospital Subway Station Store and Tingbo Hotel Changsha Yuhua District Government High-speed Railway South Station Store increased by 20% compared with the same period of last year. In addition, the Yilong Hotel on Nanjing Road in Shanghai welcomed the National Day holiday guests earlier, and the occupancy rate only increased by 12% on September 26th compared with the same period last year.
"I want to fry it in place, and I can’t forgive myself if I don’t fry it in place" and "Make relevant preparations, and delicious food is coming soon". Not long ago, with a relaxed sense of humor and full emotional value for customers, a roadside stall vendor of chicken chops in Jingdezhen unexpectedly became popular, and people gave him the titles of "Chicken Chop Brother" and "Chicken Chop Manager".
Because the time node of chicken chops’ popularity on the Internet is just before the Golden Week, with the opening of the Golden Week, it also gives a large number of tourists the opportunity to come here and have a good meal. According to Jiupai News, a customer from Taizhou, Zhejiang introduced that he and his wife and children set off from Hangzhou at 12 o’clock on September 30 in order to punch in the chicken chops of "Chicken Chop Brother". It was a normal five or six-hour drive, because it took about 10 hours to get to Jingdezhen because of the high-speed traffic jam.
The popularity of this wave of "punching" chicken chops has significantly boosted the tourism popularity of Jingdezhen and even Jiangxi Province. Interface news learned from where to go that "Chicken Chop Brother" brought fire to Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province. On October 1, the occupancy of Jingdezhen Hotel increased by 30% compared with the same period of last year, which was higher than last year. Ctrip data also shows that the overall travel order volume on the first day of Jiangxi holiday increased by 35% compared with last year.
The expensive and crowded "backstab", a traditional popular scenic spot, has discouraged many people, especially in this year’s Golden Week. In order to avoid getting together, reverse tour and minority tour have once again become the best choice for a large number of tourists, firmly standing in the "C position".
Interface news learned from Tongcheng that the congestion on the first day of the holiday and the sight of "people following the crowd" in popular scenic spots gave birth to the demand for "AI avoiding congestion" and "AI itinerary planning". On the morning of October 1st, during the rush hour, the peak hourly traffic of DeepTrip, a travel agent of the same journey platform, increased nearly three times compared with usual, and the number of questions surged 6.5 times compared with usual, both reaching record highs. Among them, more than 30% of the peak visits are questions about "blocking routes" and "unpopular destinations".
According to Ctrip, this year’s National Day booking window is one week ahead of previous years, and the search volume of niche destinations has increased by over 110% year-on-year. The latest "Domestic Minority Destination List in October" published by Ctrip Word of Mouth List directly excludes popular clusters, and includes 20 "low-heat, high-experience" domestic destinations and scenic spots such as Lishui Yunhe Terrace, Zhaoxing Dongzhai in southeastern Guizhou, Yancheng Zhonghua Elk Garden and Gannan Zhagana.
Where to go also told the interface news that in addition to going to the bustling metropolis for the holidays, reverse tourism and small town looking for autumn have become many people’s choices. The data shows that on October 1, Qunar platform users stayed in hotels and homestays in nearly 2,000 counties across the country. TOP10 popular counties are Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan, Pingtan in Fujian, Yangshuo in Guangxi, Brzin in Xinjiang, Wuyuan in Jiangxi, Antu in Jilin, Libo in Guizhou, Chun ‘an in Zhejiang, Xiaojin in Sichuan and Phoenix in Hunan.
In addition to finding niche and unpopular destinations in China, it is also a good choice to fly directly to foreign countries for vacation. According to the data released by Ctrip, this year’s Golden Week outbound tour, the "small group" catering to young people’s preferences has become the new favorite of the market, with orders increasing by over 60% year-on-year, of which orders from the post-90 s and post-00 s accounted for more than 60%.
Where did the interface news come from? On October 1, residents of third-tier cities and below flew to overseas destinations, which increased by over 50% year-on-year, higher than that of first-tier cities. On October 1st, users of the platform stayed in hotels in more than 3,000 overseas cities, and the TOP10 destinations included Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia.
In recent years, with the rise of China’s cruise economy, Chinese companies have gradually occupied a dominant position. During the summer vacation in 2025, various cruise companies started a "big melee" and took the integration of Chinese cultural elements as the key to providing competitiveness. As a "battleground" for track players, the Golden Week has set off a new round of competition for the cruise market.
"This year’s National Day Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated together, and people’s willingness to travel is high. Our route sales are very optimistic." Aida Cruises revealed to the interface news that the first domestic large-scale cruise ship "Aida Modu" launched the 8-day and 7-night National Day theme voyage on October 1, and the market response was particularly enthusiastic.
The data shows that the voyage was widely sought after by tourists shortly after it was put on sale, and the shipping space was basically sold out a few days before the festival, and the peak-shifting voyage before and after the National Day was basically sold out. On October 1st, Ada Modu set sail from Shanghai with nearly 5,000 guests, and started an 8-day and 7-night Mid-Autumn Festival special voyage.
Behind such a strong attraction is the competitive strategy of "knowing Chinese better" of Ada Cruises. During this year’s Golden Week, AIDA Cruises further developed the killer weapon of "China characteristics and cultural temperature" in product design and amusement experience.
According to the introduction of AIDA cruise, during the Mid-Autumn Festival voyage, the National Peking Opera Theatre will present a series of colorful Peking Opera cultural experiences on the AIDA Modu, so that guests can appreciate the unique charm of the quintessence of Chinese art; Guests can meet a unique China music culture forum on the Ada Modu, led by a well-known guqin teacher, to introduce the evolution and charm of traditional music in China. Ada Cruises also specially launched a series of theme activities, including Mid-Autumn Festival theme party, Mid-Autumn Festival garden party, Mid-Autumn Festival dance rhyme workshop and other experiences.
Interface news noted that Chinese-funded cruise ships not only deeply cultivated the local market, but also quietly accelerated the pace of going to the international market. On the eve of the National Day, official data of Star Travel Ocean revealed that the 920 voyage of its cruise ship Gulangyu received nearly 1,669 guests from 12 countries and regions around the world, of which international tourists accounted for 55%, covering major tourist destinations such as the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, with mainland tourists accounting for 26% and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan tourists accounting for 19%, which set a new record.
However, compared with Chinese cruise ships, the activity of foreign cruise ships during the Golden Week this year is still inferior. A typical example is that, as the third largest cruise brand in the world, MSC Glory, the flagship of Asia, was not seen in the National Day voyage of MSC Mediterranean Cruises.
In this regard, MSC Mediterranean Cruises responded to the interface news that MSC Mediterranean Cruises has planned an important deployment for the China market in the future. MSC Glory will return to Shanghai’s home port on January 27th, 2026, bringing a total of 26 voyages throughout the year, covering popular travel periods such as Spring Festival, winter and summer vacations, Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day Golden Week, and leading guests to Japanese and Korean destinations such as Fukuoka, Kagoshima, sasebo, Okinawa and Busan.
"In the past two years, the supply of international large cruise companies’ routes in China has decreased, which is directly related to the great changes in consumers’ consumption behavior and consumption structure and the adjustment of industry structure after the epidemic. But after all, the China market is huge, and they are definitely on the sidelines, waiting for the right time to make key layouts. " Wei Changren, president of Powernet, told the interface news analysis.
Wei Changren told the interface news that the increase or decrease of cruise routes should go through full market research. Opening or not opening a route involves many links such as home port, destination reception, connecting personnel stationed, communication with marketing partners, and there is a long chain behind it. At present, it takes a process for international cruise companies to re-adapt and adjust their sales strategies and product strategies in the face of changes in China’s consumer market. Therefore, even if the golden week window period is rare, they are still cautious, not so calmly returning to the China market.
However, MSC Mediterranean Cruises also mentioned to the interface news that they observed a prominent phenomenon: before the Golden Week, the number of China passengers who booked overseas voyages on MSC Mediterranean Cruises for the National Day increased by about 25% compared with the same period in 2024, and the overseas voyage sales performed strongly.
From the perspective of route preference, passengers especially like it.Western Mediterranean classic route、A tour of Aegean monumentsandNordic fjord scenic route. Popular boarding ports include Rome, civitavecchia, Genoa, Venezia, Barcelona, Athens and Copenhagen. These destinations have both historical and cultural heritage and romantic seaside customs, which meet the needs of China tourists to deeply experience Europe.
Wei Changren believes that on the surface, the decrease in the supply of China cruise market is actually a reflection of the deep adjustment and benign development of this industry. In the past, in order to cultivate the market, prices were generally low, and cruise companies and channel providers could not make money. on boardThere are also some tourists who are attracted by low prices but not high enough in quality, which affects the overall consumption experience.
"Cruise companies have higher requirements on quality, and the price has stabilized after the supply has decreased, so they can attract middle and high-end consumers who are not so price-sensitive through their products and services. In other words, when consumers chose cruise ships, cruise ships are now choosing consumers. " Wei Changren said that now the entire cruise market has entered a rational stage, and all aspects have developed healthily, and the consumer experience will naturally improve.
"The annual operation of theme parks depends on three nodes: Spring Festival, Summer Vacation and National Day Golden Week. In some theme parks, the income of these three nodes accounts for 60% or more of the total annual income. Compared with mainstream theme parks, this value can also reach about 40%. " Lin Huanjie, president of China Theme Park Research Institute, said in an interview with Interface News.
This year’s Super Golden Week has brought a large number of tourists into theme parks. From where did the interface news learn that among the TOP10 scenic spots with the highest ticket booking volume in China, the theme park occupied two seats, namely, Beijing Universal Resort and Shanghai Disney Resort.
Not only that, the booking popularity of Haichang Ocean Park and legoland, which just opened, has doubled.
Interface news learned from Haichang Ocean Park that Shanghai Haichang launched a series of preferential policies for families and parent-child groups, which effectively boosted ticket booking. According to the data, 9 days before the National Day, the ticket booking volume of Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park surged by 313% year-on-year, and the average house price of the three theme hotels supporting the park increased by 12% year-on-year.
Legoland told the interface news that legoland ushered in the first "Eleventh Golden Week" after the opening of the park. Since September 27th, the popularity of the park has continued to rise, and the hotel reservation in the park entered the "second kill" mode ahead of schedule, and it was fully sold out five days before the Golden Week, making it a popular first choice for parents and children to travel on holidays.
"This year, the overall consumption of tourists is more rational. In order to attract tourists to spend and grab more tourists, theme parks all over the country are also making different moves." Lin Huanjie told the interface news analysis that the first strategy is to increase entertainment content, such as adding projects in the park to increase the attraction to tourists and increase the stay time of tourists; The second is to extend the evening time. The park was closed at around 7 o’clock, and it will be postponed until around 9 o’clock. In addition, the integration of foreign culture and local culture will enhance the acceptance and participation of tourists.
Lin Huanjie also revealed to the interface news that according to his observation, internationally renowned brands such as Universal Studios and Disney have strong attraction. This year, in addition to the content, they also have various promotional activities, such as giving certain discounts to OTA platforms or travel companies, launching various activities such as derivatives and catering, and indirectly reducing prices.
Judging from the layout and actions of the Golden Week, major theme parks staged a "fairy fight", fighting from multiple dimensions such as strengthening sales promotion, increasing activity content and improving operation level to compete for valuable passenger resources in an all-round way.
Shanghai Disney Resort told Interface News that during the Golden Week, Shanghai Disney Resort specially planned a series of celebrations. From October 1 to 3, after the iconic "Qimxy Light Phantom Show" every night, Shanghai Disneyland will stage a castle projection and fireworks show specially presented for holidays; From September 28th to October 8th, the beloved live entertainment performance "Rhythm Adventure Tour" will return to the story stage of Adventure Island in a limited time.
In terms of operation, in addition to more than 40 men’s and women’s toilets, there are nearly 30 family toilets in Shanghai Disney Resort. The number of compartments in women’s toilets is more than twice that in men’s toilets. There are also convenient baby care centers and nursery rooms in the park.
Haichang Ocean Park told the interface news that the "Shanhai Wan Xiu Festival" in Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park has now been opened. In order to welcome the longest holiday in the Mid-Autumn Festival of the National Day, the land and sea double-line performing arts in the park have been upgraded. During the National Day, the "Killer Whale Red Song Club" was staged every day, and six killer whales jumped together; Divers carry the "underwater flag" and bionic whale sharks to perform a solemn underwater flag show; On land, the longest national tide mecha parade phalanx with a total length of nearly 200 meters is composed of more than ten "head" mecha behemoths.
From October 4th to 6th, a giant "full moon" landscape was carefully created in the Underwater World Pavilion. The mermaid became the "Chang ‘e Fairy", dancing with long sleeves on the bottom of the sea and "flying to the moon" lightly, interacting with the fish, presenting a dreamlike immersive experience for tourists.
Dalian Haichang discovered that the Kingdom started the carnival mode for 8 days in a row. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, it was discovered that the Kingdom specially launched the national flavor moon cake market, and moon cakes from all over the country gathered together. Dalian limited the seafood-filled moon cakes to go online simultaneously, and squid, shrimps, scallops … seafood elements were boldly integrated; The night show focuses on the 360 panoramic water light and shadow fireworks show "Legend of Light Painting", which combines the national wind parade, Huizhou fish lanterns and ethnic interactive games to create an immersive oriental aesthetic experience.
"According to the situation of several major cities in the previous research, we believe that the operating conditions of theme parks will be more optimistic than that of the same period last year during the eight-day Golden Week holiday this year. The premise is that it will not be affected by bad weather such as heavy rain and typhoon. " Lin Huanjie told the interface news that under normal circumstances, the number of visitors to the Golden Week theme park this year will increase compared with the same period of last year. In terms of consumption, some places should be flat, but the more well-known theme parks are estimated to have an increase of less than 10%. He is confident about this.
