Passenger trips in China are anticipated to witness a significant surge during the New Year’s holidays, surpassing pre-pandemic levels in some regions, according to data from railway and aviation authorities and travel platforms. These positive trends are viewed as a promising beginning for both inbound and outbound travel in 2024.
The national railway’s New Year’s transportation, starting officially on Friday, is expected to facilitate 63 million passenger trips, with Saturday projected as the peak day, accommodating around 15 million passengers. This reflects a triple increase in passenger trips during the peak compared to the previous year.
China Railway has enhanced transportation capacity to meet the rising demand, utilizing newly opened railway lines and platforms and introducing additional services. Notably, the Yangtze River Delta is expected to experience a considerable uptick in passenger trips, indicating positive economic momentum.
In addition to rail travel, the aviation sector is set to witness robust activity during the New Year’s holidays, with approximately 49,000 flights scheduled nationwide, marking an 85.5% increase from the same period in 2023. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) anticipates the highest single-day flight volume on Monday, with an estimated 16,600 flights.
Based on booking numbers, passenger volume is expected to reach 4.95 million during the New Year’s holidays, representing a 112% increase from the same period in 2023. Most travelers are opting for short holidays, with popular flight routes connecting major city clusters and destinations like Sanya, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Australia.
Outbound travel is witnessing a recovery trend, supported by favorable visa policies and increased consumer spending. Recent data from travel platform Fliggy shows a nearly fourfold increase in New Year’s Day holiday bookings compared to the previous year, with outbound travel leading the surge. Popular destinations include Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Australia.
The railway and aviation data for the upcoming New Year’s holidays indicates promising growth in the domestic tourism sector, signaling a robust start for the industry in 2024. Industry experts believe that 2024 will maintain an optimistic trend, with robust growth compared to 2023. Despite challenges, the tourism industry is expected to return to normalcy, entering a new stage of strong growth driven by product and service innovation.