[Edaily Kang Gyeong-rok Travel Reporter] As demand for overseas travel among Chinese tourists surged during the National Day Golden Week holiday, South Korea emerged as the top overseas destination preferred by Chinese travelers. The long holiday—which allowed travelers to take up to 13 days off by using three days of annual leave between the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day—spurred demand for long-distance and multi-country trips, driving strong performance.

According to a recent report by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the number of air passengers during the holiday period is projected to reach 31.19 million, a 3.6% increase from the same period last year. In particular, international flight bookings surged by 22.5%.
This holiday period is structured so that by taking three days off between the Mid-Autumn Festival on the 25th of last month and National Day from the 1st to the 7th of this month, people can enjoy a total of 13 days off. Consequently, demand has shifted from short-distance tourism to ultra-long-distance and multi-country travel. According to data from the Chinese travel platform Qunar, on the first day of the holiday, bookings for long-haul flights of 2,000 km or more increased by more than 40% year-over-year, while bookings for ultra-long-haul flights of 8,000 km or more rose by more than 30%.
Hotel reservations in popular destinations worldwide also rose by 48%. Hotel bookings for multi-country itineraries—visiting two or more countries—increased 2.2-fold (120%), while flight bookings to Cape Town, South Africa, surged 4.3-fold (330%). Thanks to visa-free policies and route expansions, flight bookings for long-haul routes—such as those to Brazil, Portugal, and Chile, which are more than 10,000 km away—doubled.
By destination, reservations for routes to Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Laos increased by approximately 20% compared to the previous year. Bookings for European routes, including the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain, also increased by about 15%. Overseas local consumption indicators also showed an upward trend. According to Fliggy, a travel platform affiliated with Alibaba, orders for airport pickup and drop-off services abroad rose by 43% year-over-year, while orders for local experience packages increased by 37%. As of Qunar, the number of cities worldwide visited by Chinese guests exceeded 2,000.
In terms of destination preferences, the picture varied significantly depending on diplomatic relations between countries. Japan, which was the top overseas destination for Chinese travelers last year, fell out of the top 10 in rankings compiled by major platforms (Ctrip, Tongcheng) and state-run media due to the fallout from Sino-Japanese diplomatic tensions. In contrast, South Korea claimed the top spot thanks to a spillover effect and concentrated tourism demand.
According to a survey of 1,010 Chinese citizens conducted by Dragon Trail International, a research firm specializing in Chinese tourism, 20.1% of respondents planning to travel abroad chose South Korea as their destination, accounting for the highest proportion. Among short-haul cities, Seoul, along with Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore, ranked among the top destinations.
Market experts are paying close attention to structural changes in Chinese travel patterns. Zhang Yong, a researcher at the Qunai Big Data Research Institute, analyzed, “Chinese travelers are moving away from staying in a single city and preferring multi-country and multi-city itineraries to maximize their experiences and value within their limited vacation time.” The state-run Global Times also noted, “As both outbound travel by Chinese citizens and cultural tourism by foreign visitors to China have increased simultaneously, the tourism industry has emerged as a key driver of the recovery in China’s service consumption and trade.”