China projects 22% surge in cross-border travel over New Year’s holiday
PLA drills around Taiwan snarl air routes and delay 900+ flights across Greater China
Beijing cuts Chinese visa fees in Australia through end-2026 to lure business and leisure travellers
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China braces for record 2.1 million daily border crossings over 2026 New Year break
The National Immigration Administration predicts more than 2.1 million daily cross-border trips during the 2026 New Year holiday, 22 percent higher than last year. Major airports such as Shanghai Pudong and Guangzhou Baiyun will see record passenger volumes, and authorities will deploy full staffing, mobile kiosks and real-time queue data to handle the load. Companies should prepare for longer airport processing times and ensure travellers keep documentation for tax purposes.
Hong Kong clocks nearly six million cross-boundary trips over Christmas long-weekend
Hong Kong handled almost six million border crossings during the 24-28 December Christmas break, an 11 percent rise on 2024. Outbound resident trips reached 2.73 million, while European and US visitor arrivals also picked up. Busy checkpoints maintained sub-30-minute waits thanks to extra e-gates, reinforcing Hong Kong’s recovery as a regional travel hub.
PLA live-fire drills around Taiwan to disrupt more than 100,000 airline passengers
China’s latest drills encircling Taiwan will trigger the reroute or delay of hundreds of flights on 30 December, affecting over 100,000 international travellers and 6,000 domestic passengers. Corporate travel teams should monitor flight status closely and anticipate schedule knock-ons, especially on East Asian routes.
Macau greets 1.14 million visitors during SAR anniversary-cum-Christmas week; Hengqin port tops 30 million annual crossings
Macau recorded 1.14 million visitor arrivals and 6.25 million total crossings from 20-28 December, while neighbouring Hengqin port set an all-time high of 30 million passengers for the year. Mainland tourists still dominate but broader market diversification is evident, signalling strong demand for hospitality, meetings and cross-border labour flows into 2026.
Spring Airlines and Juneyao order 55 Airbus A320-family jets, signalling fresh capacity for Chinese outbound market
Spring Airlines will buy 30 A320neos and Juneyao Airlines 25 A320-family jets for up to US $8.2 billion, pending regulatory approval. The deliveries from 2028-2032 will expand capacity on regional Asian routes crucial for business travellers and underscore China’s rebounding demand for outbound connectivity.
Chinese Visa Application Service Centres announce 1 January closure; passport pick-ups to be delayed
All Chinese Visa Application Service Centres will close on 1 January for the New Year holiday, delaying passport pick-ups by at least one day. Companies with urgent deployments should adjust timelines or upgrade to rush processing to avoid knock-on delays.