Chinese tourists favour Russia and Thailand as Japan demand fades
Chinese travel rebounds for the nine-day Lunar New Year break, led by Russia and Thailand, while Japan loses some appeal; 9.5bn trips expected in 40 days.
Chinese tourists are expected to travel overseas in greater numbers during next week’s extra-long Lunar New Year break, with popular destinations including Russia, Australia, Thailand and South Korea, while Japan has started to lose some of its appeal, Reuters reported.
The Lunar New Year—also known as the Spring Festival—is one of China’s longest holidays. In 2026, it will run for nine days from February 15, one day longer than usual, ushering in the Year of the Horse.
Chinese authorities expect a record 9.5 billion passenger trips during the associated 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, up from 9.02 billion last year. Officials hope the longer holiday will encourage more travel both domestically and abroad.
Zhou Weihong of Shanghai-based Spring Tour, the travel arm of budget carrier Spring Airlines, said Thailand has returned to being the top outbound destination because of its warm weather while much of China remains cold.
Against an uncertain economic backdrop, the report noted that many consumers appear to be seeking a brief escape. A prolonged property downturn has eroded household wealth, while uneven post-pandemic growth has fuelled job insecurity.
Studies cited in the report suggest Chinese consumers are placing greater priority on spending on “experiences”. McKinsey has described this as a deeper shift in how China consumes.
For domestic trips, demand is split between warm-weather destinations such as Hainan and snow-focused trips such as Changbai Mountain in Jilin province in northeastern China.
Russia surges on visa waiver; Australia up more than 100%
Bookings to Russia on Spring Tour’s platform have more than doubled from a year earlier, with northern Europe also seeing similar growth. Sienna Parulis-Cook of Dragon Trail Research said Chinese travel to Russia is likely to keep rising this year, helped by Moscow’s move in December to waive visas for visitors from China.
Meanwhile, Trip.com Group said the recovery in long-haul outbound travel has driven the number of Chinese tourists travelling to Australia to rise by more than 100% from a year earlier.
