‘Golden Week’ bookings show changes in how Chinese are traveling

Outbound travel from China is set to receive a much-anticipated jolt as “Golden Week” bookings show changes in where and why Chinese people are traveling.

Buoyed by falling airfares, Chinese travelers are booking more overseas trips for the National Day holiday period, which extends from Oct. 1 to 7, according to Fliggy, a major travel booking platform in China.

Data from Fliggy, an Alibaba Group subsidiary, shows travelers are headed to many of their usual haunts in Asia-Pacific: Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea plus Australia as well as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam in Southeast Asia. The United States also made the list, it said.

But for the most part, the fastest growth in bookings is for trips to places outside the region: Chile, Croatia, Belgium, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka, company data shows.  

A report published Sept. 23 from Goldman Sachs Equity Research estimates China’s domestic travel volume to grow an “unexciting 5-6%” compared to last year’s holiday period. However, “outbound travel growth is likely to remain robust, +62% yoy” — or about 94% of 2019 levels, it said.

Trip.com, China’s largest online travel agency, also shows a “significant shift” toward long-haul destinations for the upcoming Golden Week, with Australia, the United States, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France, and Spain leading the list among long-haul bookings.  

The average Golden Week booking this year is more than seven days, but those headed to Europe are staying up to twice as long, according to the company.

While most Golden Week travelers are choosing mid-tier accommodations, growth for five-star hotels in Europe is almost three times higher in Europe than in Asia-Pacific, company data showed.

According to Trip.com, nearly 1 in 3 travelers to Europe booked multi-destination itineraries, whereas 80% of Golden Week bookings within Asia-Pacific are for single-destination trips, according to Trip.com.    

ASEAN nations have discussed creating a Schengen-like visa to incentivize travelers to visit multiple countries while in the region. But so far, the visa — which would apply to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam — has not materialized.

Another mark of recovery? Travelers are planning trips further in advance, a mark of rising confidence to travel. Travelers submitted visa applications, on average, 68 days before their trips, some 29 days earlier than last year, according to Trip.com.