Railway stations and airports across China were packed on January 1 as the three-day New Year holiday kicked off. Transport authorities reported that passenger flows exceeded 2 million on major trunk high-speed-rail corridors, while aviation regulators logged more than 17,000 commercial flights on the first day alone—up 18 % versus the 2025 holiday.
The Ministry of Transport attributes the surge to pent-up demand among residents who deferred travel during the fourth-quarter work crunch, coupled with attractive discount fares offered by airlines and online platforms. Data from Trip.com show domestic hotel bookings for January 1–3 up 46 % year-on-year, with tier-2 cities such as Lianyungang and Guiyang outperforming traditional hotspots.
Economic significance: Analysts view the strong start as a bellwether for 2026 consumer sentiment. Domestic tourism revenue is forecast to rise 15 % this year, aided by prolonged visa fee reductions for inbound travellers that free up household budgets for outbound trips later in the year.
![New Year Holiday Triggers First 2026 Travel Peak, Signals Robust Domestic Demand]()
Operational considerations:
• China Railway is running an additional 1,200 EMU services daily through January 4 to cope with late-evening departures.
• Major airlines have activated “holiday charters” on secondary routes to free capacity on trunk lines.
• Businesses shipping time-sensitive goods should anticipate potential trucking delays around scenic areas and schedule shipments before the evening outbound peaks.
Whether you are an expatriate planning a New Year getaway or a foreign professional timing a business visit, VisaHQ can streamline the entire China visa process online, offering expedited options, real-time tracking and expert support—see https://www.visahq.com/china/ for details—so your travel plans keep pace with the country’s rapidly expanding transport network.
With the 40-day Spring-Festival travel rush only five weeks away, the transport sector is stress-testing crowd-management systems and ticketing algorithms. Mobility and relocation managers should monitor policy bulletins for any short-notice Covid-related measures, although none are anticipated at present.
The holiday performance underscores China’s strategy of using multi-day breaks to catalyse domestic consumption, an approach that multinationals can leverage through targeted marketing campaigns and flexible work-from-anywhere policies for expatriate staff.
The Ministry of Transport attributes the surge to pent-up demand among residents who deferred travel during the fourth-quarter work crunch, coupled with attractive discount fares offered by airlines and online platforms. Data from Trip.com show domestic hotel bookings for January 1–3 up 46 % year-on-year, with tier-2 cities such as Lianyungang and Guiyang outperforming traditional hotspots.
Economic significance: Analysts view the strong start as a bellwether for 2026 consumer sentiment. Domestic tourism revenue is forecast to rise 15 % this year, aided by prolonged visa fee reductions for inbound travellers that free up household budgets for outbound trips later in the year.
Operational considerations:
• China Railway is running an additional 1,200 EMU services daily through January 4 to cope with late-evening departures.
• Major airlines have activated “holiday charters” on secondary routes to free capacity on trunk lines.
• Businesses shipping time-sensitive goods should anticipate potential trucking delays around scenic areas and schedule shipments before the evening outbound peaks.
Whether you are an expatriate planning a New Year getaway or a foreign professional timing a business visit, VisaHQ can streamline the entire China visa process online, offering expedited options, real-time tracking and expert support—see https://www.visahq.com/china/ for details—so your travel plans keep pace with the country’s rapidly expanding transport network.
With the 40-day Spring-Festival travel rush only five weeks away, the transport sector is stress-testing crowd-management systems and ticketing algorithms. Mobility and relocation managers should monitor policy bulletins for any short-notice Covid-related measures, although none are anticipated at present.
The holiday performance underscores China’s strategy of using multi-day breaks to catalyse domestic consumption, an approach that multinationals can leverage through targeted marketing campaigns and flexible work-from-anywhere policies for expatriate staff.
