Local fishermen train for an international dragon boat race in waters off Xinbu island, Haikou, South China's Hainan Province, on May 21, 2025. The race is traditional activity for the annual Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on May 31 this year. Photo: VCG

China is expected to record an average of 2.15 million daily border crossings during the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival holidays, a 12.2-percent year-on-year increase, with cross-border travel expected to peak on June 1, according to the National Immigration Administration (NIA) on Wednesday.

Also known as the Duanwu Festival, the traditional celebration falls on the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. This year, it lands on May 31, with public holidays scheduled from May 31 to June 2.

Traffic at China's major international airports is also projected to surge, with the Shanghai Pudong International Airport expected to lead with 100,000 daily border crossings, followed by the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport with 48,000 and the Beijing Capital International Airport with 46,000, according to a statement posted on the NIA's official WeChat account.

During the three-day holidays, China's inbound tourism is forecast to continue strong growth momentum, buoyed by streamlined visa policies and an improved travel environment, according to several domestic travel agencies.

Searches for hotels by inbound tourists surged by 100 percent as of May 19, with the top 10 sources of tourists including Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and the US, data released by domestic online travel agency Trip.com showed.

"'China Travel' continues heating up this year, with online enquiries on our platform seeing growth of around 20 percent thanks to favorable policies facilitating inbound tourism such as visa exemptions and instant tax refunds," Xu Xiaolei, a marketing manager at CYTS Tours Holding Co, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

As more foreign tourists visit China and have positive experiences in the country, the potential of China's inbound tourism consumption market will continue to grow, Xu said, noting that new mainstream consumers, especially young consumers from other countries, show a strong desire to explore China.

Meanwhile, the top 10 destinations for outbound travel during the three-day holidays include Japan, South Korea, China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Thailand, according to Trip.com.

Travel among the HKSAR, the Macao Special Administrative Region and the Chinese mainland has been rising steadily, and the Dragon Boat Festival is expected to bring even greater volumes, further boosted by a series of major events scheduled across the regions, the NIA said.

HKSAR Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki said on Monday that the region anticipates approximately 3.2 million passenger trips during the Dragon Boat Festival holidays, of which about 2.73 million will occur through land border control points, according to a release on the HKSAR government website.

The NIA has urged border authorities to closely monitor cross-border traffic and provide regular updates to assist travelers. The agency also called for sufficient staffing to ensure wait times at border crossings do not exceed 30 minutes.