China to See 2.13 Billion Trips During Golden Week... Korea Emerges as Top Holiday Destination

Up to 13 Days of Golden Holiday with Annual Leave
20.1% of Overseas Travelers Choose Korea

From October 1 through October 7, China will observe the National Day Golden Week holiday, during which more than 2.13 billion cumulative trips (including overlapping counts) are expected.

Foreign tourists are entering through Incheon International Airport. This is an unrelated stock photo. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to China's Ministry of Transport on October 1, Chinese authorities anticipate that interregional movement during this National Day holiday will reach a cumulative total of 2.13 billion trips. This equates to an average of around 300 million trips per day—1.7 times higher than usual. On the first day of the holiday alone, a record 340 million trips are expected.

Authorities predict that road travel, including private vehicles, will account for over 90% of all trips. To accommodate this, 10,000 emergency EV charging stations have been installed, and railway authorities have deployed an additional 2,053 temporary trains.

The number of travelers heading overseas during the holiday has also surged. According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), international flight bookings during the holiday have increased by 22.5% compared to the previous year.

In particular, a survey conducted last month by market research firm Dragon Trail International found that 20.1% of those planning overseas travel chose Korea as their destination, making it one of the most popular destinations for the holiday. This was followed by Singapore at 6.6%, Japan at 6.0%, Hong Kong at 5.9%, and Macau at 4.9%.

Last year, Japan ranked first, but it has now dropped to third place. In addition, according to the travel booking platform Tongcheng Travel, Japanese cities failed to make it into the top 10 international destinations booked for travel—unlike last year when Tokyo and Osaka were included.

In contrast, Seoul was selected as one of the top three destinations, along with Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Other destinations included in the top ten were Singapore, Bali, and Ho Chi Minh City.

Meanwhile, this year’s National Day holiday immediately follows the Mid-Autumn Festival (Chuseok), and those taking annual leave can enjoy up to 13 consecutive days off.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.