International tourists visit the Shichahai scenic area in Beijing on April 22, 2026. Photo: VCG

With the May Day holidays just around the corner, China is preparing for a two-way surge in cross-border travel, serving as a window into the country's consumption vitality. 

As inbound tourism evolves from "China Travel" to "Shopping in China," while outbound trips to Southeast Asia and Europe see double-digit growth, a market expert attributed the holiday trend to the services industry, which reflects China's high-level opening-up.

China's ports are expected to handle a peak in cross-border passenger flows during the May Day holidays, which runs from May 1 to May 5, with average daily inbound and outbound trips projected to reach 2.25 million and the single-day peak expected to exceed 2.4 million, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) said on Tuesday.

Inbound and outbound passenger flows at major international airports are expected to rise notably, with Shanghai Pudong International Airport projected to handle 102,000 border crossings per day, followed by Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport with 55,000 crossings and Beijing Capital International Airport with 49,000 crossings, said the NIA.

Similar outlooks are being announced by airlines and travel platforms. China Eastern Airlines said on Tuesday that on international routes, flights to destinations such as Kazan, Buenos Aires, San Francisco, Madrid, Maldives, Rome, Cairo, and Budapest have seen strong booking demand and high load factors. 

China Southern Group plans to operate about 4,200 flights on international and regional routes, a year-on-year increase of nearly 3 percent. Among these, Southeast Asian routes are scheduled to operate more than 2,100 flights, a year-on-year increase of 11 percent.

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways said that during the May Day holidays, overall travel demand remains strong on routes such as Hong Kong to Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu, with bookings up significantly compared with the same period last year. Bookings for the Shanghai market are up more than 30 percent year-on-year, and bookings from Chengdu have risen 80 percent year-on-year.

A Beijing resident surnamed Cai told the Global Times on Tuesday that her cousin's family will come from Cambridge, the UK, to China for the May Day holidays.

"Their trip will include sightseeing, and they will visit the cities of Beijing, Huai'an, Suzhou, and Shanghai," Cai said, adding that the family will stay in China for three weeks.

The positive figures show that China is becoming an increasingly popular destination for international tourists, Yang Jinsong, a tourism expert with the China Tourism Academy, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

On the policy side, unilateral visa-free entry and other facilitation measures continue to be implemented effectively, significantly reducing the cost of cross-border travel and further enhancing the convenience and attractiveness of inbound and outbound tourism, said Yang.

The latest statistics released by the World Travel & Tourism Council showed that China's travel and tourism economy grew by 9.9 percent in 2025, more than twice as fast as the global average, and that China could become the world's largest tourism economy by 2030.

Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was recently asked to comment on trends in tourism, with more and more foreign tourists changing the way they travel in China from simply sightseeing to having an immersive experience, and from having a glimpse into China to being integrated into the country

Guo said that these tourists come to China and discover its true charm beyond imagination, citing figures from the first quarter of 2026, which showed that the number of foreigners who entered China visa-free continued to increase, rising nearly 30 percent year-on-year.

During the May Day holidays, outbound travel continues to show strong momentum, with destinations concentrated in Southeast Asia and Europe. 

Data from industry information provider Umetrip showed that as of April 24, flight bookings from China to Southeast Asia for the holiday period were up by more than 26 percent year-on-year. Bookings to Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam each grew more than 30 percent year-on-year. 

The European market has also performed strongly, with flight bookings from China to Europe increasing by about 13 percent year-on-year. Scheduled flights by domestic carriers to Europe are up by more than 17 percent year-on-year.

Against the backdrop of expansion of visa-free policies and tax rebate facilitation have jointly driven the anticipated two-way surge in cross-border travel during the May Day holidays. Inbound "China Travel" has been gaining sustained momentum, with outbound tourism flourishing across multiple destinations, serving as a vivid reflection of China's high-level opening-up, Hu Qimu, a professor at the Maritime Silk Road Institute of Huaqiao University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

In Hu's view, inbound travel serves as an important window into China's consumption confidence, as tourism is a vital industry that combines services, culture, and cross-border exchanges. The sustained growth of international visitors not only boosts domestic consumption but also signals global trust in China's open market policies. 

"When foreign tourists choose to spend their holidays in China - from bustling metropolises to quiet counties - they are not just sightseeing; they are experiencing and validating the vitality of the Chinese economy," Hu said.