Tongcheng Travel(00780): 6-day "Little Golden Week" boosts spring travel, with parent-child tours and educational trips seeing over 100% year-on-year growth in popularity

Zhitong Finance APP learned that in the spring of 2026, the tourism market saw a remarkable “chemical reaction.” With spring breaks for elementary and middle schools being piloted for the first time in many places, and coinciding with Qingming Festival, a 6-day “mini Golden Week” has come into being, injecting new momentum into the spring tourism market.

On April 6, the “2026 Spring Break and Qingming Festival Holiday Tourism Summary Report” (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”) released by Chengdu Tongcheng Travel (00780) shows that during the Qingming Festival holiday from April 4 to 6, spring themes such as traditional rural tourism, flower viewing, and hiking remained the most popular. Strong travel demand boosted the surrounding-area tourism market. The booking heat for high-quality hotels near-by increased by 60% month over month, while the booking heat for homestays offering spring-only activities increased by 90% month over month. Camping experiences close to nature and immersive Hanfu travel photography are also highly favored, with booking heat for related products up 230% month over month.

A more significant change comes from the 6-day stretch holiday formed by “spring break + Qingming.” The Report shows that from April 1 to 6, the overall booking heat for travel products increased by nearly one time month over month. Booking heat for theme parks, cultural and museum attractions, zoos, and other categories rose by more than 120% month over month.

With ample time, long-distance travel has become possible. For flights with segments over 800 kilometers for families, booking heat increased by 80% month over month, and booking heat for outbound travel grew by more than 45% year over year. A wave of “learning-oriented travel” centered on knowledge gains and organized on a family basis is clearly emerging this spring.

The Release of the Consecutive-Leave Effect: Spring-Break City Travel Booking Heat Up 130% Year over Year, Orders for Long-Distance Family Trips Double Year over Year

During the Qingming Festival holiday, ancestor worship, spring outings, and leisure in nearby areas intertwined, and domestic tourism heat continued to climb. The Report shows that during the spring break and Qingming period, popular domestic destination cities include: Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Nanjing, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Chongqing, and Xi’an.

However, what truly reshapes the market landscape is the 6-day mini holiday pieced together by “spring break + Qingming.” According to the Report, during the spring break and Qingming period, orders for long-distance trips for families doubled year over year. Among holiday orders, the share of parent-child groups reached 40%, up nearly 20 percentage points year over year. Among passengers on domestic civil aviation, the number of passengers under 18 increased by 47% year over year—children have truly become the “main characters” of this holiday.

The Report shows that spring-break policies have a significant pull effect on travel demand. In source cities with spring-break arrangements, the overall domestic travel booking heat increased on average by 130% month over month, exceeding the growth of the broader market by 30 percentage points.

In terms of accommodation bookings, during the spring break and Qingming period, destinations with the highest increases in hotel booking heat include: Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Chongqing, Anhui, Tibet, Xinjiang, Hainan, and Zhejiang—these regions are also largely covered by spring-break policies.

With six days of time, the radius for family trips was greatly extended, and the passenger-flow pattern for Qingming holiday destinations changed. Previously, north–south far-flung cities that were “out of reach” due to a 3-day holiday saw a notable rise in tourism heat this Qingming. According to data from Chengdu Tongcheng Travel, orders for long-distance trips for parent-child families doubled year over year, and booking heat for flight segments over 800 kilometers increased by 80% month over month. Brand hotel data also confirms the trend. During the Qingming holiday, Wanda Hotels and Resorts’ booking heat increased by 34% year over year; long-distance destinations such as Dali, Tengchong, and Xishuangbanna led the growth.

At the same time, the self-driving travel market also welcomed a growth in scale. The number of rental-car inquiry requests increased by 170% year over year, and orders for long-term rentals of more than 3 days increased by over 65% year over year. SUV models, known for being spacious and comfortable, were especially favored by “families with kids,” and a “spring migration on wheels” unfolded in parallel.

Families Become “Learning-on-the-Go”: Parent-Child Study Tours Double Year over Year, Multi-Generational Travel Up 160%

With this “spring break + Qingming,” the decision-making power for travel transfers in an interesting way. When children have access to a dedicated holiday, they naturally become initiators and core participants in the family’s travel “projects.” Families become “learning organizations” centered on researching and experiencing specific interests. According to Tongcheng data, during the spring break and Qingming period, parent-child study tour orders grew by more than 100% year over year.

This organization’s “research topic selection” deeply reshapes the nation’s destination rankings. Beijing, Xi’an, Nanjing, and Chengdu—these “knowledge-rich mine” cities with top-tier museums, science and technology museums, or super IP—became the most popular “study tour bases.” Cities such as Nanjing and Chengdu also show an interesting pattern of “two-way prosperity”: both are strong origin markets for visitors, and—thanks to unique IP such as Nanjing Hongshan Zoo and the Panda Base—attract “like-minded families” from across the country to come for “academic exchanges.”

Deep experiences shifted from “elective courses” to “required courses.” More than half of the families going to Yunnan incorporate experience modules such as rainforest scientific expeditions, traditional tea making, or intangible cultural heritage tie-dye. In Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, an arts-and-crafts pottery experience workshop even added 2 additional course sessions on a single day during the Qingming holiday and still sold out immediately. In Anji, Zhejiang, a “tea culture one-day class” that integrates picking tea leaves, stir-frying, and tasting requires booking two weeks in advance.

These interest-driven “topic-based trips” also create more warm scenarios for multi-generational travel. The Report shows that this year during the Qingming holiday, family travel orders including grandparents, parents, and children grew by more than 160% year over year. Zhao, who works in Shenzhen, planned a family trip themed around “seeking Cantonese delicacies.” Bringing her parents and children, she traced food culture from early tea restaurants in Guangzhou to private-home-style restaurants in Shunde, and then to dried delicacy workshops in Zhongshan—completing a “three generations under one roof” culinary culture journey.

A batch of “dark horse” destinations also emerged thanks to their unique “knowledge scarcity.” Hainan Wenchang, Guangxi Chongzuo, Shanxi Jinzhong, Yunnan Pu’er, and Gansu Zhangye—by virtue of irreplaceable deep knowledge experience scenes—attracted families who do not want to crowd together and pursue distinctive takeaways from “one class, one course.” Meanwhile, scenic areas focusing on deep experiences and parent-child interaction also saw peaks in visitor flow. In Hainan, the Yalong Bay Nanduoer Tropical Rainforest (Yanuoda) attracts families through immersive activities such as parent-child handicraft making, with visitor numbers up 20% year over year during the spring break. In Suzhou, the Qingdian Ruzhi area-driven by measures such as an “intangible cultural heritage market + spring-break children’s free tickets” greatly boosted spending on both boat rides and homestays.

At the same time, the 6-day holiday makes “taking the kids abroad” more relaxed. Besides classic choices such as Hong Kong, Macao, and Singapore, destinations such as Thailand’s Koh Chang with rich ecological experience and mature holiday facilities, and Malaysia’s Johor Bahru with a LEGO-themed theme park, are increasingly favored by families seeking differentiated experiences.

Parents’ consumption logic also evolves in step, pursuing “double satisfaction.” They want to help children “learn and gain something” through professional explanations and independent study camps, and they also need high-quality resort hotels and destination-specific experience activities to find an easy vacation “without exhausting the kids.” This has led to a surge in sales of combined products such as “parent-child friendly resorts” and “day camps + self-guided travel.”

Cross-Border Mobility Heat: Hotel Booking Heat for Hong Kong People Northward Up 8 Times Year over Year, International Youth Begin “Eastern Field Research”

The Qingming Festival carries traditional rites and etiquette for ancestor worship and tomb sweeping. This year, coinciding with the overseas Easter holiday, forms a 5-day long holiday. After many Hong Kong residents return home for ancestor worship, they have more time to extend their journey to a wider part of the Chinese mainland. A wave of “northward” leisure and vacation is emerging across the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge and at major airports.

According to HopeGoo, the international platform under Chengdu Tongcheng Travel, data shows that during the holiday, Hong Kong residents’ booking heat for flights to the mainland surged by nearly 4 times year over year. Hotel booking heat increased by as much as 8 times year over year. Their northward trips have been upgraded into a carefully planned “cross-border quality life proposal.” The focus of spending has shifted completely from the traditional “shopping spree” model to “leisure life” and “in-depth experiences.”

The convenience of the Greater Bay Area’s “one-hour life circle” has generated high-frequency “go-and-return the same day” consumption going to cities such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Foshan. Meanwhile, the consumption radius has also extended significantly farther outward. Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Changsha, and Sanya are becoming popular choices for long-distance travel. With in-place culture-driven humanistic exploration and mind-and-body healing deep-experience projects integrated into these trips, they are becoming a core driving force attracting Hong Kong people northward and improving trip quality.

In response, travel heat from mainland residents to Hong Kong has also warmed up. During the holiday, booking heat for high-quality hotels grew by nearly 30% year over year, and spending shows a clear dual pattern of “distinctive experiences + fashionable shopping.” Cultural landmarks such as the Hong Kong Palace Museum, the M+ Museum, and the Cantonese opera center, along with various design hotels and multi-brand buyer stores with distinctive styles, are becoming emerging check-in destinations for young visitors from the mainland. The two markets are forming a pattern of “quality upgrade and two-way complementarity.”

In addition, while Chinese families deepen their “learning topics” within China, another group of young “international class representatives” is also using the spring break and Easter holidays to arrive in China and conduct their “Eastern field research.” HopeGoo data shows that in the 2026 Qingming holiday, the total order volume related to inbound travel grew by more than 70% year over year.

These youth groups from Asian countries such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and South Korea, as well as from Europe and the Americas, have clearly defined travel themes. They no longer satisfy themselves with general sightseeing, but instead conduct in-depth experiences around a “specific cultural or natural subject.” For example, participating in aesthetic-building Jiangnan garden experience camps, learning Chinese kung fu or calligraphy, and studying Chinese tea culture and tea-making craftsmanship have become popular choices.

Their travel style is more like “short-term study tours.” They stay longer and prefer boutique homestays or cultural inns that allow them to participate in local life. Demand is strong for small-group study products that include professional explanations or workshops. This signals that inbound tourism to China is upgrading value from “scenery consumption” to “knowledge and cultural consumption.”

Looking Ahead to May Day: Search Heat Up More Than 320% Month over Month, Smart Travelers Start “Value Prospecting”

The tourism craze sparked by the Qingming holiday has provided a good start for the spring tourism market, and it also indicates that the upcoming May Day holiday is likely to continue and amplify this trend. According to observations from the Chengdu Tongcheng Travel platform, during the Qingming holiday, travel heat had formed a “ripple effect.” In the May Day holiday (April 30 to May 4), the search heat for tourism products increased by more than 320% month over month compared with the Qingming period.

It is worth noting that, due to expectations of an increase in aviation fuel surcharges, many travelers have begun stocking up on May Day tickets in advance to lock in travel costs, which further boosts May Day booking heat. Popular domestic “ticket-stocking” destinations remain concentrated in key cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Popular outbound destinations mainly include Hong Kong, Macao, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia. In addition, driven by visa-free policies and distinctive resources, niche destinations such as Georgia, Azerbaijan, Serbia, and Uzbekistan have also seen significant heat growth.

Against the backdrop of generally rising hotel prices during May Day and the anticipated “crowd” of visitors, “value prospecting” capability has become a key skill for travelers. The heat for “reverse tourism” continues to rise. Many families seeking high-experience value also set their sights on emerging destinations with more approachable consumption and distinct cultural uniqueness, such as Wanning, Tianshui, Jingdezhen, and Mangshi—completing deep experiences and exploration in these “value lowlands” that have not been overly commercialized. Meanwhile, using intelligent tools such as AI for itinerary planning is also gradually becoming a common choice among travelers.

The Chengdu Tongcheng Research Institute believes that the 2026 Qingming holiday has validated the huge potential of the combined model of “staggered holidays + traditional holidays” in stimulating consumption. When tourists shift from “sightseeing check-ins” to “knowledge gains,” and when families become “learning-on-the-go classrooms,” this not only promotes the upgrade of the culture and tourism industry from “resource supply” to “content creation,” but also further releases the driving effect of holiday economy on local consumption and industrial transformation, providing vivid examples for sustainable tourism development.