China’s golden week travel bookings surge, rail to handle 219m trips, boosting spending

China is bracing for a bumper “golden week” holiday travel rush that could deliver a welcome lift to consumer spending. Early data from travel operators points to strong demand for domestic and international trips during the eight-day holiday starting October 1, which combines the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day.

Railways are forecast to carry 219 million passengers between September 29 and October 10, well above the 177 million handled over 10 days last year, when a record 21.4 million traveled on October 1 alone. Airlines and online platforms also report robust demand: searches for domestic flights were up 30% year-on-year in early September, while bookings for flights, trains, and car rentals have all climbed. Car rental bookings for multi-destination trips surged 93% from last year, according to Fliggy.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.