This year, Chinese travelers during the "super golden week" — when the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day coincide — did not simply rush abroad, but began to make new use of their long holiday. According to Airbnb, searches for overseas bookings nearly tripled compared with the May holidays, and the average trip length reached seven days. A quarter of bookings fall on the three working days between the holidays, when people deliberately "glue together" their days off in order to travel farther and deeper.
Italy topped the ranking of popular destinations for the first time: searches grew by one and a half times and were twice those for France. The contribution of Generation Z is especially noticeable — it accounts for 40 % of queries for Italian properties, and its growth rates outpace those of other groups. Young travelers are no longer limited to Rome and Florence, although these cities are also in the global top 10 by searches. They are choosing Trentino-Alto Adige in the Alps and the Amalfi Coast, where the autumn weather is ideal for trekking in the Dolomites and walks along the "Path of the Gods."
Nature and active recreation are becoming the main driver. Together with the Italian national tourism board, Airbnb has launched a series of hiking routes through the Dolomites, Lake Como and Umbria, with the option of getting there by train. This is not merely a change of scenery, but an attempt to combine cultural heritage with a sense of freedom and movement that dense city tours do not provide.
Long multi-country routes are also gaining momentum. About a third of those planning multi-day trips intend to visit more than one country. Switzerland, after Paris, New Zealand and Australia with their spring landscapes, as well as the less hyped corners of Indonesia and Vietnam, attract those who want to combine several climate zones and types of activity in a single trip.
Generation Z's interest in the "wild" side is especially vivid: from Mount Rinjani on Lombok to the glacial lagoons of Iceland and the Norwegian fjords. Searches for these destinations grew two- to fourfold. Young Chinese are no longer looking only for the "icons" — they are ready for independent routes, overnight stays in remote places and a combination of trekking with local cuisine and culture.
Thus, Golden Week 2026 is turning not merely into a mass exodus, but into an experiment in rethinking leisure: from short city getaways to extended, meaningful journeys where nature and personal experience become the main values.
