Around 14,000 domestic flights a day are expected during the holiday period. Credit: Tang Yan Song/Shutterstock.com.

China’s travel market is expecting a significant boost over the next week as millions of travellers will be flying on holiday to make the most of the country’s Golden Week holiday. 

Golden Week is an annual holiday that encompasses celebrations of the country’s National Day, marking the anniversary of the formal establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. 

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This year, the extra-long public holiday also coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival due to its lunar focus, meaning it will last from September 29 to October 6.

Due to its length and purpose as an encouragement for the Chinese population to travel and boost the economy, the holiday has always had an effect on tourism levels

But it has been especially impactful as China’s tourism industry recovers from pandemic restrictions, according to GlobalData Analyst Megan Cross, who said: “October was the month that saw the most travellers in 2022, with 134.5 million domestic and outbound trips, according to GlobalData’s demands and flows database. This was not the case in previous years, with June and July usually claiming the top positions.

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“Despite pressure due to multiple factors, China’s consumer market is currently displaying signs of recovery and growth. With the boost the Golden Week holidays will provide, consumption has the potential to bounce back in a significant way in Q4.” 

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According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, more than 21 million passengers are expected to travel by air during the holiday in 2023, with deputy director Jin Junhao saying that the regulator was expecting 14,000 domestic flights a day. 

Additionally, while many tourists are expected to fly and travel by train domestically, Thailand’s aviation industry is also hoping to see a boost after the country’s government introduced a visa exemption scheme for Chinese tourists between September and February, with Prime Minister Strettha Thavisin even greeting tourists at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on September 25 for the beginning of the scheme. 

The impact of the boost will be particularly notable following Boeing’s announcement that it expected China to become the biggest domestic aviation market in the next two decades, according to data from its Commercial Market Outlook report, which said that the country would account for one-fifth of global aeroplane demand in the same period.