Flights to smaller airport cities more than doubled; foreign tourists fly to 97 cities across China for the New Year.
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Celebrating the New Year in a warm, cozy town, enjoying skiing and hot springs, hiking for blessings, having fun at theme parks, and experiencing the local life in a small town... people are celebrating the arrival of 2026 in different ways. This year's three-day New Year's Day holiday is two days longer than in 2025, with the overlap of short-distance trips, extended-day long-distance trips, and inbound travel, resulting in record-breaking overall travel activity. Data from Qunar.com shows that hotel bookings for popular destinations during the New Year's Day holiday increased by 50% year-on-year, and Qunar.com users' hotel and homestay bookings covered more than 1,000 counties and cities nationwide (excluding county-level cities and municipal districts). Chinese-style theme parks such as Harbin Ice and Snow World and Kaifeng Wansui Mountain Martial Arts City in Henan Province performed exceptionally well, entering the top ten most popular scenic spots nationwide for the first time. Hotel bookings around Wansui Mountain Martial Arts City surged ninefold.
More travelers are choosing to "take a 3-day break and enjoy an 8-day vacation," starting 2026 with a single flight. Qunar.com data shows that during the New Year's Day holiday, airfares to popular destinations increased by 20% year-on-year, and airfares to smaller airport cities such as Pu'er in Yunnan Province increased by more than 200%. Many young people are also keen on traveling abroad for the New Year. Qunar.com users booked hotels in nearly 3,000 cities worldwide, and outbound airfare purchases by travelers aged 23-30 increased by 42%.
Meanwhile, more and more foreign friends are choosing to spend the New Year in China. Qunar.com data shows that during the New Year's Day holiday, non-Chinese passport holders purchased domestic flights to destinations covering 97 cities. The first long weekend after border closures saw a boom in Hainan's tourism market, with foreign tourists entering Sanya increasing fivefold year-on-year.
Where were the most crowded places during the three-day New Year's Day holiday?
Qunar.com data shows that theme parks were the top destination for New Year's Eve celebrations. Theme parks accounted for half of the top 10 scenic spots. In addition, many tourists chose to climb mountains for blessings on New Year's Day. Emei Mountain and Huangshan Mountain were packed with tourists, making them the most popular scenic spots for New Year's Day. Since Emei Mountain temples offered free admission on January 1st, the scenic area's popularity has further increased, driving hotel bookings around Emei Mountain to more than double year-on-year.
Airfares from cities with smaller airports more than doubled.
