Mid-Autumn Holiday Travel Surges: Long-Haul Flight Bookings Up 76% YoY, Tech Experiences Emerge as New Highlight

By Xiong Yansha, China Securities Journal

During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, a China Securities Journal reporter observed at the Hanyang Riverside Park in Wuhan, Hubei Province, a steady stream of visitors enjoying the river views. Many family groups gathered in the park's "lantern riddle" zone to solve puzzles together, underscoring that "family reunion" remained the central theme of the holiday.

Travel and consumption both heated up during the Mid-Autumn Festival break, with long-haul tourism and tech-enhanced experiences emerging as key highlights.

Long-Haul Travel Booms During Extended Holiday

Long-distance travel became a popular choice for the combined Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays. According to data from Meituan:

• Air ticket bookings for the Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays rose 44% year-on-year.
• Among these, bookings for long-haul flights exceeding 2,000 kilometers surged 76% year-on-year, accounting for over a quarter of all bookings.
• The number of users booking tickets for two or more destinations increased 70% year-on-year.

Data from Fliggy shows that, beyond major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing, and Hangzhou, classic long-haul destinations such as Chengdu, Urumqi, Kunming, and Sanya ranked high on the booking list. Travel product bookings for regions like Xinjiang, Tibet, and Qinghai saw particularly strong growth.

In terms of travel style, deep-travel experiences combining multiple activities gained popularity. Fliggy data indicates:

• Bookings for glacier trekking products increased over 50% year-on-year.
• Skydiving product bookings rose nearly 80% year-on-year.
• Whale-watching product bookings surged over 200% year-on-year.

Outbound and inbound tourism also warmed up. Tuniu data from September 27 shows that Southeast Asian and European countries were the most popular outbound destinations during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The National Immigration Administration previously forecast that daily出入境 passenger traffic during the National Day holiday would reach 2.15 million, with peaks on October 1 and October 4, and a single-day high potentially exceeding 2.4 million.

Traditional Festival Gets a "Tech Makeover"

Autumn scenery appreciation was a major theme of Mid-Autumn travel. Tuniu data shows that popular autumn destinations included:

• Poplar forests in Ejin Banner
• Red leaves covering the mountains in Benxi
• High-altitude lakes in Jiuzhaigou
• Vast forest seas in the Greater Khingan Range

The demand for Mid-Autumn "reunion dinners" drove a surge in dining consumption. According to Douyin data:

• Orders for "reunion dinner" related items increased over 105% year-on-year.
• Group-buy orders for Mid-Autumn gifts rose over 166% year-on-year, with sales revenue up 172%.
• Group-buy orders for hairy crab surged 423% year-on-year.

Technology experiences entered parks and markets, adding a "tech vibe" to the traditional festival. During the holiday, Beijing Tongzhou Highline Park became a popular spot for autumn outings and family activities. The robotics experience store "Taozhu New Creation Bureau" showcased multiple smart products at the park market. Parents and children interacted with robots and tried out smart musical instruments that required no prior experience. A representative from Taozhu New Creation Bureau told reporters that the goal was to use relaxed, everyday scenarios to show that using robots and AI products is gradually becoming a new lifestyle.

Watching movies during the Mid-Autumn Festival also became a popular choice. Data from Beacon (Dengta) shows that as of 5:30 PM on September 27, the total box office for the 2026 Mid-Autumn Festival film period reached 260 million yuan, surpassing the 2025 Mid-Autumn Festival period.

Strong Growth Potential for Travel Ahead

As the Mid-Autumn holiday ends and the National Day holiday approaches, a new wave of travel is expected. The Ministry of Transport forecasts that National Day travel will reach 2.13 billion person-trips over seven days, averaging 300 million person-trips per day, approximately 1.7 times the usual daily volume.

Driven by the "3 days off + 13 days holiday" leave strategy, some travelers are no longer satisfied with single destinations. They are adopting a "city-hopping" approach, visiting multiple cities in one trip, which is expected to boost consumption across various locations.

Ms. Wang from Beijing planned a trip to Huangshan during the Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays. She chose to fly first to Nanchang and then take a high-speed train to Huangshan. According to the prices displayed at the time, the combined transport cost was over 600 yuan cheaper than a direct flight to Huangshan. "This holiday is long, so I'm not in a rush. I can also visit the Tengwang Pavilion during the layover and grab a Jiangxi-style stir-fry," Ms. Wang said.

"This year, during the long holiday, tourists are starting to use flexible combinations of flights and high-speed trains to include transit cities in their itineraries," a Meituan Travel representative explained. During the Mid-Autumn and National Day travel period, the number of users booking tickets for two or more destinations increased 70% year-on-year, while users combining flights and high-speed trains to connect multiple cities in one trip grew 14% year-on-year.

A research report from Huayuan Securities indicates that travel enthusiasm for the 2026 Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays is high. The extended leave window is shifting travel patterns from "crowded popular destinations" toward long-haul trips, county-level tourism, and multi-destination "string tours," which is expected to drive concentrated demand for in-depth long-distance travel and county-level hotel accommodations.