Tourists visit the Bund, Shanghai on June 25 Photo: VCG

As July approaches, China’s summer tourism market has heated up well ahead of the summer travel season. Long-distance in-depth trips and cool summer escapes stand out as two dominant trends this year, with family groups and students forming the core consumer base. 

A clear consumption upgrade is taking shape across the sector, as travelers shift from superficial sightseeing to immersive, experience-focused journeys, a Chinese expert said.

The national summer transport season runs from July 1 until August 31, with transport operators, airlines and travel agencies all reporting record-high bookings across the board.

Railway traffic is expected to hit an all-time high in the Yangtze River Delta region, according to China State Railway Group Shanghai Bureau. It forecasts that region will handle a record of 190 million passenger trips throughout the summer transport period. Daily passenger volume is set to surpass 3 million for the first time at 3.065 million, up more than 3 percent year-on-year.

China’s civil aviation sector mirrors the robust railway momentum, with flights to long-haul cool destinations seeing an explosive growth.

Industry data provider Umetrip told the Global Times that as of June 24, bookings for domestic air tickets in July exceeded 10.28 million, while reservations for inbound and outbound international flights topped 4.48 million, an increase from the same period last year.

Travelers show markedly stronger willingness to take long-haul trips this summer vacation. Meanwhile, northwest and southwest China, blessed with stunning natural landscapes and distinctive ethnic cultural resources, have posted sharp rises in flight ticket reservations and are poised to become key growth drivers of this year’s summer travel market. Flight bookings for lesser-known cool summer escapes, including Liupanshui, Southwest China's Guizhou Province and Shennongjia, Central China's Hubei Province, all surged more than 100 percent year-on-year for July, Umetrip said.
 
Major online travel platforms also released glowing summer booking figures. Spring Travel told the Global Times that its summer booking volumes have surpassed those of 2025. The Chaoshan area in South China’s Guangdong Province, which gained huge popularity thanks to the hit film Dear You, has stood out as a dark horse, with its reservation volume surging 30 percent year-on-year.

Another travel platform Tuniu said travel product bookings for summer groups rose 20 percent year-on-year, with domestic trips up over 30 percent as of June 26.

Tongcheng Travel reported surging demand for summer tourist trains, with bookings jumping more than 70 percent year-on-year. Such slow-paced, immersive journeys are favored by families and senior travelers. For instance, summer-retreat-themed tourist trains in Northeast China, running through premium cool destinations including Harbin, Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Hulun Buir, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Changbai Mountain in Northeast China's Jilin Province, have become a newly popular travel pick this summer.

Retail data from online travel platform Utour Travel showed that its overall summer visitor bookings surged 37 percent year-on-year. Long-haul trips to Southwest China's Yunnan Province and Southwest China's Guizhou Province jumped 383 percent year-on-year, and northwest routes covering maintained rapid expansion with a 102 percent year-on-year booking rise.

Industry analysts said the travel trend reflects a structural upgrade in Chinese residents’ cultural and tourism consumption. 

This summer’s travel boom fully illustrates an upgrade in Chinese consumption toward high-quality, immersive experiences. While long-haul routes retain their year-on-year popularity, tourists are gravitating toward lesser-known destinations. Free from overwhelming crowds, these county-level destinations boast unspoiled natural scenery and distinctive local charms, catering to travelers’ desire for unique, social-media-worthy experiences rather than rushed, superficial sightseeing, Zhang Yi, CEO of iiMedia Research, told the Global Times on Monday.

Zhang added that China’s expansive territory, with its diverse landscapes, climates and cultural heritage, enables a wealth of creative tourism products. Such diversified summer travel demand will consistently boost growth across transportation, hospitality and cultural consumption sectors, serving as a core engine powering China’s summer consumption expansion.