Ahead of the longest-ever combined Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, Chinese travelers are increasingly choosing not mass-market routes but early starts and extended multi-stop itineraries. According to OTA data, more than 35 % of bookings for the period of 1–7 October fall on departures before the start of the golden week, and over 10 % — even before the end of the autumn vacation.
This strategy of "错峰抢跑" — beating the rush by starting early — makes it possible not only to save on tickets and hotels but also to stretch the vacation to 10–13 days. As a result, the share of interprovincial trips reaches 82 %, and the average tour length exceeds eight days. Cities like Kunming and Urumqi, previously considered far-flung, are confidently entering the top ten destinations.
At the same time, interest is growing in "奔县深度游" — in-depth trips through counties. Bookings in small towns have risen by 42 % compared with last year, and the average length of stay has increased by 3,2 days. Travelers are abandoning quick sightseeing in favor of a leisurely immersion in local life.
Beyond the country's borders the picture is similar: searches for outbound tours have grown 2,6 times over, and popular destinations — Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Istanbul, Sydney — are often combined in a single itinerary. Tourists are "assembling" a puzzle out of several countries, using up their entire supply of days and a budget that has on average increased by more than 20 %.
Experts note that behind these figures lies a lasting shift: from "galloping through the sights" to a conscious choice of quality and variety. The holiday peak no longer dictates the rules — it is bypassed, stretched out, and turned into a series of personal adventures.
