May Day holiday sees 11.279m cross-border trips; inbound, outbound travel momentum highlights China's vitality

China recorded 11.279 million cross-border trips during the five-day May Day holiday, official data showed on Wednesday. The prosperity of inbound and outbound travel vividly demonstrated China's robust consumer momentum, opening-up vitality and global appeal as an international tourism and consumption destination, Chinese experts said.

China's border inspection authorities ensured smooth flows of 11.279 million cross-border trips during the holiday, with a daily average of 2.256 million, representing a 3.5 percent year-on-year increase. The busiest day for border crossings fell on May 2, when passenger volume peaked at 2.529 million, according to the National Immigration Administration (NIA).

Overseas tourists made 1.255 million cross-border trips during the holiday, a year-on-year surge of 12.5 percent, with 436,000 foreign visitors entering via the visa exemption policy, up 14.7 percent year-on-year.

In addition, border authorities inspected 531,000 inbound and outbound trips, including by ships, trains and vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 16.6 percent.

Inbound tourism maintained strong growth momentum during the holiday. The growth in overseas tourist arrivals reflected global travelers' growing willingness to visit China, with the visa exemption policy playing a major role in boosting inbound visits, experts said.

Chinese online travel agency Qunar told the Global Times on Wednesday that Canada, the US and India were the top source markets for inbound visitors. The number of Turkish travelers booking domestic flight tickets in China surged 367 percent year-on-year, while arrivals from Kazakhstan and Bangladesh both jumped 170 percent.

Top favored domestic destinations for foreign tourists were Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong Province. Emerging and central-western destinations also gained popularity. The number of foreign tourists flying to Hohhot, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region soared 735 percent, according to Qunar.

Zhangjiajie in Central China's Hunan Province saw an 80.3 percent year-on-year surge in inbound tourist arrivals, the fastest growth among China's top 20 inbound destinations, according to data sent by Trip.com to the Global Times on Wednesday.

Spring Travel told the Global Times on Wednesday that inbound tourists showed a strong inclination to shop at fashion brand stores. Commercial blocks including Shanghai's Nanjing East Road, Xintiandi and Tianzifang were hugely popular, while trendy cultural and creative brands also drew large numbers of foreign visitors.

In addition, the ongoing 2026 Shanghai International Flower Show and new debut stores drew large numbers of inbound tourists, according to Spring Travel.

China's inbound and outbound tourism markets both logged solid growth during the May Day holiday, with inbound tourism standing out remarkably, Hu Qimu, a professor at the Maritime Silk Road Institute of Huaqiao University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The strong inbound tourism was backed by facilitated visa exemption policies, optimized border clearance services, and the country's push to upgrade the services sector. Improved offerings in tourism, commerce and comprehensive services have further burnished China's appeal as a premium global travel destination, continuously attracting overseas tourists for sightseeing and consumption, Hu said.

Outbound tourism also demonstrated sound resilience. Due to global energy shifts and temporary air capacity adjustments, growth in traditional short-haul Southeast Asia routes cooled slightly. Yet this does not signal weaker travel willingness. Instead, it has driven a structural shift in travel behavior, as tourists move away from crowded short-haul itineraries toward high-quality, in-depth long-haul journeys, showing clear consumption upgrading trends across the market, Hu added.

Qunar data showed that despite disruptions caused by flight cancellations and rising fuel surcharges, Chinese travelers retained strong enthusiasm for long-haul trips. Flight bookings to South Africa surged 180 percent year-on-year, followed by Belgium at 160 percent, Kenya at 111 percent and Brazil at 95 percent.

Data from Tongcheng Travel also indicated that bookings for outbound travel rose more than 60 percent year-on-year. European destinations including the UK, Denmark, Italy and Spain saw their booking volumes more than double compared with the same period last year.

According to the latest statistics, during this year's May Day holiday, it is estimated that over 1.5 billion cross-regional trips were made in China, a daily average of more than 300 million, up by 4 percent from last year. Hotel group purchase sales increased by 86 percent year-on-year. Box office exceeded 750 million yuan. In particular, inbound tourism recorded phenomenal growth, as China becomes a destination of choice for more and more foreign tourists. Many see such robust holiday performance as an indicator of the strong pulse of China's economy.

In response to media questions on these numbers, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday that the data demonstrate the strong resilience of China's economic growth and the huge potential of the Chinese market.

We have also noted that more foreign tourists came to China during the holiday to experience the strong sense of safety and the sweet moments of everyday life unique to this country. This also attests to the appeal of China's policies and measures towards facilitating cross-border travel guided by its commitment to high-standard opening-up, Lin said.

China will open its door wider to the world. Cross-border travel brings prosperity both in and beyond China. It will surely inject more vitality and positive expectations into the world economy, Lin added.