China’s unusually long nine‑day Spring Festival holiday produced a surge in domestic travel and spending. Provinces have released partial tallies and, so far, 26 have published data covering the 2026 holiday: a national total of about 596 million domestic trips and roughly RMB 8,034.8 billion in tourism spending, the highest on record. The scale of movement and expenditure illustrates how the extended holiday amplified a broader post‑pandemic rebound in services consumption.
Guangdong emerged as the largest single beneficiary by both footfall and receipts, reporting 86.59 million visits and RMB 848.9 billion in tourism revenue — more than one‑tenth of the national total. Other provinces with very large visitor counts included Jiangsu (75.81 million), Henan (62.81 million), Hubei (60.09 million), Sichuan (58.61 million) and Hunan (58.42 million). From a revenue standpoint Zhejiang (RMB 679.5 billion) and Jiangsu (RMB 609.63 billion) followed Guangdong.
The provincial data reveal two complementary trends: volume growth and higher per‑capita spending. Most provinces posted faster growth in tourism revenue than in visitor numbers, a pattern that lifted average spending. Zhejiang reported per‑visitor outlays of RMB 1,475.8, Beijing’s average was the highest at about RMB 1,670, and Guangdong’s visitor spend rose to roughly RMB 980 from RMB 930 a year earlier. Longer itineraries, more overnight stays and experiential offerings all pushed up receipts.
Regional patterns have shifted since the previous Spring Festival. In 2025 a northern surge—led by provinces such as Liaoning and Shanxi that benefited from ice‑and‑snow campaigns and heritage tourism—dominated growth. This year the South reclaimed the lead: growth in visitor numbers was strongest in Hainan, Jilin, Fujian and Zhejiang, while revenue growth above 20% was driven mainly by southern provinces including Hunan, Hainan, Fujian and Zhejiang as well as Shanghai and a few smaller markets.
Not all provinces reported whole‑economy figures. Shandong, Yunnan and Chongqing released only monitored scenic‑site data: Shandong’s 200 monitored sites took 30.5 million visitors and RMB 1.43 billion in receipts; Yunnan’s 220 sites welcomed 22.24 million visitors, up nearly 16%; Chongqing’s 130 monitored sites recorded 12.6 million visits. These measurements underline the unevenness of reporting but also the importance of major attractions in concentrating visitor flows.
Demographics and travel patterns are evolving. Fujian reported that nearly 30% of its visitors were born after 2000, and that experiential, higher‑quality tourism — more overnight stays and spending on food, local experiences and premium services — has become mainstream. The holiday also encouraged more long‑distance, cross‑regional trips, which typically support larger bills for transport, accommodation and attractions.
The economic implications are multi‑fold. Tourism’s strong performance during the extended holiday provided an immediate boost to consumption, a policy priority for stabilizing growth. But the record figures also raise questions about sustainability: whether elevated per‑visitor spending can be maintained outside peak windows, whether infrastructure and environmental carrying capacities in hot spots can be preserved, and how regional competition will redistribute gains. For national and local policymakers the challenge will be turning this episodic surge into steady, inclusive service‑sector growth.