Passengers prepare to board an electric multiple unit train at a railway station in Lianyungang, East China’s Jiangsu Province, January 1, 2026. Photo: VCG

China’s New Year holiday has delivered the first major travel and consumption peak of 2026, as strong passenger flows and rising tourism spending signal a steady release of demand and a resilient start to the year, according to data from transport authorities and travel platforms.

Analysts said the strong holiday performance highlights the underlying vitality and resilience of the Chinese economy, as domestic demand continues to recover amid sustained policy support.

The 2026 New Year holiday, the first three-day break of the year, runs from Thursday to Saturday, concentrating travel demand and fueling a nationwide tourism surge.

On Thursday, railways in the Yangtze River Delta were expected to handle 3.7 million passenger trips, marking a record high for New Year travel in the region and the peak day of the 2026 New Year holiday rail rush, according to China News Service.

In South China, China Railway Guangzhou Group projected that the holiday travel peak would also occur on Thursday, with 2.792 million passenger trips expected, up 16.4 percent year on year, official data showed.

Travel demand far exceeded levels seen in previous years, according to data sent to the Global Times by travel platform Qunar on Thursday. Flight bookings to popular destinations rose 26 percent year on year, the platform said.

Another travel service provider, Tongcheng, told the Global Times that domestic hotel bookings were more than triple those of the same period last year, driven by a combination of leisure travel, family reunions and New Year celebrations.

A series of policy developments ahead of the holiday – including the launch of island-wide independent customs operations at the Hainan Free Trade Port and the opening of the Shenyang-Baishan high-speed railway – further boosted travel enthusiasm, encouraging tourists to head both south and north.

Qunar data showed that flights to Haikou, capital of Hainan Province, ranked among the top 10 nationwide on Thursday. Self-driving trips in Haikou and Sanya, a popular coastal city in Hainan, ranked first and second nationwide, surging 81 percent and 96 percent year on year, respectively.

Inbound travel picked up notably, with Haikou and Sanya recording the fastest growth in inbound flight bookings nationwide on Thursday, rising by more than threefold and fivefold, respectively, as overseas travelers opted to spend the New Year holiday on China’s island destinations. 

Inbound flight bookings increased by over 20 percent, Qunar data showed. Major inbound source countries included Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore and the US.

Outbound travel also jumped on Thursday, as the number of travelers heading to popular destinations rose by more than 40 percent year on year. 

According to a forecast released by the National Immigration Administration, the average daily volume of inbound and outbound passenger movements nationwide during the holiday period is expected to exceed 2.1 million, representing a 22.4 percent year-on-year increase.

The holiday travel boom has been underpinned by continued policy support. China has continued to refined its entry-exit and immigration policies, allowing travelers from 55 countries to stay in China visa-free for up to 10 days, as part of a package of measures aimed at facilitating cross-border travel and advancing high-level opening-up.

“Holiday travel typically shows seasonal growth, but this year’s New Year holiday carries added significance,” Song Ding, a research fellow at the China Development Institute, told the Global Times on Thursday. He said that after a year of policies aimed at stabilizing consumption and expanding domestic demand, their effects are expected to become increasingly visible in 2026.

"With visa-free policies continuing to expand, cross-border travel is picking up for both inbound and outbound travelers, supporting tourism, services consumption and related industries," the expert added.