China sees steady growth in domestic tourism over first 9 months of 2026

BEIJING -- China's domestic tourism market posted solid growth in terms of both trips and travel spending from January to September this year, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) said on Monday.

More than 5.3 billion domestic trips were made during the first nine months of 2026, up 6.2 percent year-on-year, data from a survey of domestic travelers conducted by the ministry revealed.

Urban residents accounted for over 4 billion trips, an increase of 6.6 percent from a year earlier, while rural residents made 1.27 billion trips, marking a 5.1-percent rise.

Domestic tourism spending expanded 2.2 percent year-on-year to 4.95 trillion yuan ($737 billion) during these nine months. Of the total, urban residents spent 4.14 trillion yuan, up 2.2 percent, while rural residents spent 810 billion yuan, rising 2.1 percent.

China aims to record 8.3 billion year-round domestic trips and 7.7 trillion yuan in year-round domestic travel spending by 2030, according to a five-year tourism development plan for the 2026-2030 period released by the MCT in July.

In 2025, the country saw more than 6.5 billion domestic trips, with tourism expenditure reaching 6.3 trillion yuan, both setting new records.