Asia gears up for Chinese tourist surge

As China will soon enter one of its busiest travel periods during an ultra-long Golden Week holiday, destinations in Asia are gearing up to attract more tourists from the region's top outbound travel market.

"The extended Golden Week is particularly significant for Asian destinations because the potential for a long travel period creates greater opportunities for short-haul and multi-destination travel within Asia," said Noor Ahmad Hamid, CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association.

The upcoming National Day holiday from Oct 1 to 7, which is also known as a Golden Week holiday, and the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday from Sept 25 to 27 together yield a 10-day break, longer than the eight-day holiday last year. Many Chinese workers have chosen to extend the break to 13 days by taking leave during the three days between the two holidays.

According to a report released on Sept 21 by Chinese online travel platform Trip.com, more than half of the outbound flight bookings made by Chinese travelers are for departures before the Golden Week officially begins on Oct 1.

Apart from traditional popular destinations in East Asia and Southeast Asia, long-haul destinations in Australia and New Zealand have also gained traction, according to the report.

Destinations are preparing in different ways. For example, on Sept 14, Thailand unveiled the "Nihao Month 2026" campaign to deepen the country's engagement with the Chinese market, while a "Seoul Welcome Week: Autumn Edition" is being held in South Korea through Oct 11 to welcome international tourists, including those from China.

Businesses in the tourism sector in destinations such as the Maldives and Bali have also launched targeted campaigns for Golden Week.

The potential surge in outbound tourism during the ultra-long holiday is particularly important for Asian destinations this year as the tourism industry has experienced difficulties due to the Middle East conflict and rising oil prices, Gary Bowerman, managing director of the weekly industry newsletter Asia Travel Re: Set, told China Daily.

Noting that Seoul was ranked as the top holiday destination during the Golden Week this year by flight bookings in the Trip.com report, followed by Tokyo and Bangkok, An Yong-ju, a former professor of global leisure and tourism at South Korea's Sun Moon University, said that improved bilateral relations have become a catalyst for rising tourism demand.

Yang Wanli in Bangkok and Zhang Hui in Hong Kong contributed to this story.