China prepares for record-breaking 1.9b passenger trips for National Day holiday

The Ministry of Transport has projected an extraordinary 1.9 billion passenger trips from October 1, signaling a major rebound in travel across the country. With the government implementing a range of measures to ensure safe and smooth journeys, this year’s holiday promises to be one of the busiest in recent memory.

Vice Minister Li Yang announced at a press conference on Friday that the anticipated travel will primarily be driven by family reunions and sightseeing. “An average of 277 million passenger trips are expected to be made daily during the holiday, a 19.4-percent increase compared to the same period in 2019,” he noted, reflecting the renewed enthusiasm for cross-regional travel.

Traditional destinations such as Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, and Chengdu are bracing for a wave of visitors, while emerging hotspots in Chongqing, Yunnan, Sichuan, and Xinjiang are leading the charge in booking growth. Notably, the recent success of the video game “Black Myth: Wukong” has catalyzed a tourism boom in Shanxi, with its picturesque locations featured in the game becoming viral sensations. Travel routes connecting ancient temples, towers, and pagodas have captured the imagination of adventurers nationwide.

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This extended holiday also presents an opportunity for outbound travel. According to Trip.com, increased flight capacity has led to a 20 percent drop in average ticket prices to popular destinations like Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Australia. This has resulted in a remarkable 70 percent year-on-year surge in visa applications, indicating a strong desire among travelers to explore beyond China’s borders.

To facilitate the anticipated travel surge, the government is reinforcing its long-standing policy of waiving tolls for passenger cars during major holidays, a measure that has significantly boosted road trip demand since 2012. Improvements to facilities at highway rest areas are also underway, with a nationwide initiative to install additional charging stations catering to the growing number of electric vehicles. In Sichuan, for instance, 98.3 percent of highway rest areas are now equipped with charging poles, providing a total capacity of 190,000 kilowatts.

Safety is a top priority, with local transport departments upgrading roads and facilities around popular tourist spots and coordinating with traffic bureaus to develop contingency plans for congestion. At the national level, the Ministry of Transport has issued guidance to local authorities to maximize transport capacity in preparation for the holiday influx, focusing on streamlining the ticket purchasing process for public transport, particularly for the elderly and foreign travelers.

The robust demand for travel this year is underscored by statistics from the Ministry of Transport, which reported nearly 44 billion passenger trips in the first eight months of 2024—a 6.1 percent increase from the same period last year. With these figures in mind, China’s National Day holiday is poised to be a vibrant celebration of movement and connection across the nation.