On February 23, Tongcheng Travel (00780) released the '2026 Spring Festival Holiday Tourism Consumption Summary Report,' which outlines new trends and characteristics of tourism consumption during the 2026 Spring Festival holiday based on data from the Tongcheng Travel platform.
According to Zhitong Finance APP, the "longest Spring Festival holiday in history" has delivered an impressive tourism performance during the extended holiday. Many well-known scenic spots across the country experienced peak travel demand, with tickets being hard to come by. Short-distance and long-distance tourism consumption both showed notable highlights. On February 23, Tongcheng Travel (00780) released the '2026 Spring Festival Holiday Tourism Consumption Summary Report' (hereinafter referred to as the 'Report'). Based on data from the Tongcheng Travel platform, the report summarized new trends and characteristics of tourism consumption during the 2026 Spring Festival holiday.
The 'Report' shows that traditional New Year customs remain the mainstay of the Spring Festival tourism market. Pursuing the traditional festive atmosphere has become the mainstream for domestic tourism during the Spring Festival. Various New Year celebrations held in Guangdong, Fujian, and other regions became extremely popular cultural and tourism consumption activities during the holiday. Cities like Shantou saw significant increases in tourism popularity, emerging as unexpected 'dark horse' destinations for domestic Spring Festival travel. Following the border closure, Hainan's island-wide tourism popularity reached a new high during the first Spring Festival long holiday, with hotel booking interest growing by over 70% year-on-year. Harbin, a popular destination for winter tourism, maintained strong appeal, while indoor ski resorts became the preferred choice for residents in southern regions to experience skiing. The Spring Festival also witnessed a two-way trend of 'returning home tourism' and 'reverse celebration,' with cultural and tourism products in central and western cities such as Chongqing and Chengdu seeing booking interest from local residents grow by over 100% year-on-year. 'Celebrating the New Year with AI' became a new trend for Spring Festival travel, with young people consulting AI about regional Spring Festival traditions. The extra-long holiday significantly boosted demand for outbound long-distance travel, with hotel booking interest in popular Italian destinations like Milan increasing by over 200% year-on-year.
Guangdong has become the top destination for traditional New Year tourism, with hotel booking interest in Shantou and other areas growing by over 80% year-on-year.
During the Spring Festival, the traditional 'festive spirit' emerged as the strongest tourist-attracting 'IP' across regions. The competition between northern and southern festive atmospheres created a lively celebration. Data from the Tongcheng Travel platform revealed that the top ten most popular destinations for traditional 'New Year spirit tourism' during this Spring Festival were: Shantou, Fuzhou, Beijing, Ganzhou, Suzhou, Jiujiang, Shanghai, Quanzhou, Dehong, and Kaifeng.
Guangdong was undoubtedly the big winner in this year’s 'New Year spirit' tourism boom. Popular Guangdong destinations like Shantou saw hotel booking interest increase by over 80% year-on-year, ranking among the highest nationwide. During the Spring Festival, Guangdong launched the theme 'Come to Guangdong to Celebrate the New Year,' focusing on intangible cultural heritage festivities combined with modern experiences. Concurrently, a Spring Festival cultural and tourism consumption subsidy campaign was initiated. The rich traditional New Year customs and events such as deity processions and Yingge drum performances in the Chaoshan region provided tourists with immersive festive experiences.
Fuzhou, with the theme 'Come to Fuzhou, Celebrate a Blessed New Year,' launched its New Year Cultural Tourism Month, hosting over 1,800 events covering themes such as festive traditions, lantern festivals, intangible cultural heritage, fireworks, ancient houses, and red tourism.
Traditional New Year celebrations featuring ethnic minority cultures in places like Ganzhou and Dehong, known for their visual impact and participatory appeal, became major attractions for out-of-town visitors during the holiday. Booking interest for local specialty accommodations doubled during peak travel periods.
Moreover, following the border closure, the first Spring Festival long holiday, coupled with festivities such as Haikou's 18th Wanchun Festival, helped create a vibrant holiday atmosphere. Hainan's shopping and leisure tourism popularity hit new highs, with island-wide hotel booking interest growing by over 70% year-on-year, making it the absolute top destination for island tours during the Spring Festival.
Demand for winter tourism remained robust during the Spring Festival, with indoor ski resorts becoming a new hotspot for winter cultural and tourism consumption.
Traveling as a family to Northeast China to immerse in authentic Northeastern 'New Year spirit' remained a classic and highly sought-after option for winter tourism during the Spring Festival. According to the Tongcheng Travel platform, Harbin, Changbai Mountain, Altay, and Zhangjiakou were among the most popular destinations for winter tourism. Among these, Harbin Ice and Snow World, Qipanshan Ice and Snow World, and Changchun Ice and Snow New World were favored spots for family-friendly winter activities, showing significant growth in booking interest. As the location of the main stage for the Harbin sub-venue of this year's CCTV Spring Festival Gala, Harbin Ice and Snow World remained highly popular throughout the first half of the holiday. Meanwhile, Changbai Mountain Wanda International Resort and Snow Town were popular choices for family trips and Spring Festival getaways. In addition to winter sports experiences, historical sites like Shenyang Imperial Palace also ranked as popular check-in spots.
Compared to long-term snow and ice tourism, indoor ski resorts near home have become the choice for many people to experience skiing during the Spring Festival holiday. Several newly opened large indoor ski resorts have become hotspots for local snow and ice cultural tourism consumption. Data from the Tongcheng Travel platform shows that the most popular indoor ski resorts during the Spring Festival holiday include Nantong Sendi Snow and Ocean Amusement Park, Huzhou Taihu Dragon Dream Snow World, Suzhou Alps Snow World, Shenzhen Window of the World Alps Ice and Snow World, and Changchun Wanda Ski Resort.
The dual trends of 'returning home for tourism' and 'reverse migration for the holidays' are converging, with local bookings at major scenic spots in central and western cities accounting for over 60%.
Staying in hotels near home and visiting local attractions during the Spring Festival has made the 'returning home for tourism' demographic a key driver of cultural tourism consumption in several central and western cities. People returning home for the holidays generally chose to explore their local areas and surrounding regions, with hotel and attraction bookings from locals in multiple central and western cities increasing by over 100% year-on-year. Data from the Tongcheng Travel platform indicates that cities such as Chongqing, Chengdu, Xi’an, Bijie, Zhengzhou, Taiyuan, Shaoyang, Zhoukou, Fuyang, and Nanchong ranked among the top destinations for local bookings of scenic spots and hotels. Notably, in Bijie, Zhengzhou, and Zhoukou, bookings by local residents accounted for more than 60% of total reservations at major attractions.
While some people visit attractions in their hometowns, others travel from their hometowns to first-tier cities for family reunions, contributing significantly to cultural tourism consumption in central cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Data from the Tongcheng Travel platform reveals that flight booking volumes from major central and western cities to destinations such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, and Hangzhou surged by nearly 40% in the week leading up to the Spring Festival holiday compared to last year, with travelers aged 50 and above showing a notable increase in participation.
Seeking traditional 'New Year atmosphere' in county towns, hotel booking popularity in places like Yixian and Yangshuo counties increased by over 400% year-on-year.
In small county towns, the 'New Year atmosphere' was strong, with significant growth in tourism popularity across multiple counties during the Spring Festival. Data from the Tongcheng Travel platform highlights that destinations such as Yixian in Huangshan, Yangshuo County in Guilin, Pingyao County in Jinzhong, Pingtan County in Fuzhou, Chengjiang City in Yuxi, and Wuyuan County in Shangrao ranked among the top county-level tourist spots nationwide in terms of hotel and attraction booking popularity.
Popular county destinations either boast well-known scenic spots or host rich traditional New Year customs. Traditional activities such as fish lantern parades and bench dragon processions held in the ancient villages of Hongcun and Xidi in Yixian, Huangshan, significantly boosted local tourism. Yangshuo County in Guilin was featured prominently due to its popular attractions like the Lijiang River scenic area and vibrant Spring Festival folk events. Meanwhile, Pingyao County attracted young travelers and families with its ancient city of Pingyao and distinctive Shanxi traditions. During the Spring Festival, hotel and homestay booking popularity in Yixian, Yangshuo, and Pingyao grew by over 400% year-on-year on the Tongcheng Travel platform.
Additionally, Pingtan County in Fuzhou focused on mountain-sea national trends, cross-strait New Year flavors, and intangible cultural heritage performances during the Spring Festival, blending local customs with modern national trends, attracting many young visitors. The unique Miao New Year customs and celebrations in Xijiang Thousand Villages made Leishan County one of the popular county-level tourist destinations during the holiday season.
Celebrating the New Year with AI: DeepTrip inquiries about local New Year customs exceeded those related to hotel accommodations.
This year’s Spring Festival holiday showcased an undeniable 'technological feast' centered around AI. From planning itineraries, searching for attractions, researching guides, to checking weather updates, AI has become an indispensable 'travel companion' for the Spring Festival. According to data from DeepTrip, Tongcheng Travel's AI-powered travel assistant, approximately 57.4% of questions were related to transportation tickets, while about 20% pertained to attraction visits and roughly 12.9% involved local New Year customs. Notably, inquiries about local New Year traditions far exceeded those related to hotel accommodations and other travel topics. Analysis of user queries suggests that interest in local customs stems from a desire to explore unique regional traditions, as well as to familiarize oneself with local culture to enhance travel planning. Young people under 30 constituted the majority of those asking about New Year customs. For this demographic, travel AI serves not only as a trip-planning 'assistant' but also as an essential 'New Year customs manager.'
The demand for long-haul outbound travel has surged, with hotel bookings in Italian cities such as Milan seeing a year-on-year increase of over 200% in popularity.
The nine-day Spring Festival holiday has fully stimulated the demand for outbound travel. Data from the Tongcheng Travel platform shows that medium and short-haul outbound travel remained the mainstay of holiday outbound travel, with destinations within the 'five-hour flight circle,' such as South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Macao, Indonesia, ranking high.
Compared to last year, the overall popularity of long-haul outbound travel destinations during this Spring Festival holiday has grown significantly. Italy, Spain, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, and Denmark ranked among the top long-haul destinations. Overall, European travel saw relatively higher popularity. In terms of traveler demographics, families remained the main group for long-haul outbound travel during the Spring Festival.
The Spring Festival holiday coincided with the Milan Winter Olympics, and many families chose to visit Milan to watch the Olympic events and cheer for Chinese athletes while also touring famous Italian historical and cultural cities such as Rome and Venice. Olympic event tourism significantly boosted the popularity of Italian cities like Milan. Data from the Tongcheng Travel platform shows that the popularity of hotel bookings in Italian cities such as Milan and Venice increased by more than 200% year-on-year during the Spring Festival. Driven by the atmosphere of winter sports created by the Winter Olympics, many Chinese skiing enthusiasts opted to visit ski resorts in Switzerland, Denmark, Austria, Turkey, and other locations to experience skiing while exploring local landmarks. Popular European tour itineraries on the Tongcheng Travel platform during the Spring Festival included Paris + Rome + Milan + Venice + the Louvre + the Palace of Versailles + Nice + Monaco, Germany + Hungary + Switzerland + Austria + Czech Republic + Luxembourg + Liechtenstein, and Paris + the Swiss Alps + Rome + the Eiffel Tower + Jungfrau + Venice. Many consumers chose to join local group tours, which were both convenient and efficient.
