Economic Watch: China's Spring Festival holiday outbound travel boom to gallop Asia-Pacific tourism

HONG KONG, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- As the 2026 Chinese New Year, the Year of the Horse, approaches, China's outbound tourism market is poised for a boom driven by an unusually long holiday and growing demand for cross-border travel, while the Asia-Pacific region, from Southeast Asian hubs like Thailand and Cambodia to Australia's sun-soaked shores, stands to reap huge rewards.

China's National Immigration Administration predicted that the average daily number of inbound and outbound passengers at ports across the country during the nine-day Spring Festival holiday period beginning Sunday will exceed 2.05 million, a 14.1-percent increase compared with the same period last year.

The country's civil aviation authorities have signaled the scale of the upcoming travel wave. Wang Weijun, deputy director of the Transport Department of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said the number of air passengers during the country's Spring Festival travel rush is expected to hit an all-time high, with both outbound and inbound routes set for a new peak.

The uptick in travel is evident in visa data, too. VFS Global, a leading global visa services provider, reported a double-digit year-on-year increase in China's outbound visa applications from December 2025 to January 2026, a testament to the enduring vitality of the country's holiday travel market.

A confluence of factors is fueling the surge. This year's Chinese New Year brings what travel analysts have dubbed the "longest Spring Festival holiday ever," and a popular strategy of taking five additional days of leave to create a 15-day break has sent outbound travel demand soaring, according to a travel trend report released by online travel agency Tongcheng Travel.

For Chinese travelers, the Asia-Pacific region is the primary choice thanks to geographical proximity, close cultural ties and enhanced travel convenience, with Southeast Asia standing out for its moderate flight distances, vibrant holiday atmosphere and visa-free convenience.

Southeast Asian destinations hold half of the spots on the list of China's top 10 most popular outbound Spring Festival holiday destinations, Tongcheng's report found, including Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City and Bali. Seoul ranks first overall, with Bangkok second.

Qunar, another major Chinese travel platform, named Thailand, South Korea and Malaysia among the most cost-effective hotspots for the holiday, while flight data from Flight Manager confirmed sharp increases in flight volumes to and from Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos and other Southeast Asian nations.

The influx of Chinese tourists is breathing fresh momentum into the aviation and tourism sectors across the Asia-Pacific, with countries forecasting striking growth in arrivals and travel-related activities.

In Thailand, Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited said traffic on China-related routes is on a steady upward trend, with an estimated 679,259 passengers traveling these routes -- an 8.1 percent year-on-year increase.

Australia, too, is reaping the benefits of a rebounding Chinese tourism market. Robin Mack, the newly appointed managing director of Tourism Australia, said that the Chinese market is "very important" to Australia's tourism industry and that its recovery is "very strong," noting that Australia's summer, from December to February, is the peak season for Chinese visitors, with the Chinese New Year holiday being particularly important.

Countries across the Asia-Pacific are embracing the Spring Festival with a rich tapestry of cultural celebrations, blending local traditions with Chinese holiday customs to create a warm atmosphere for visitors.

In Vietnam, the Year of the Horse has taken center stage, with horse imagery adorning streets, art galleries and public spaces across the country. In Laos, an array of Spring Festival celebrations was highlighted in a cross-border event on the China-Laos Railway, where trains were turned into "mobile stages" with performances, storytelling and traditional activities. Cambodia has also embraced the Spring Festival as a shared celebration, with a three-day China-Cambodia cultural exhibition held in Phnom Penh.

Thong Mengdavid, deputy director at the China-ASEAN Studies Center of the Cambodia University of Technology and Science, said the Chinese New Year has become a "shared festival" in Cambodia, a symbol of the deep cultural and fraternal ties between the two countries. ■