Travel trends shift toward deeper cultural immersion

Demand for long-haul travel continues to surge this holiday season. Rather than rushing to internet-famous check-in spots, more travelers are spending their entire holiday on a single journey, taking time to explore, observe, and immerse themselves in local experiences.

Online travel agency Trip.com Group recently released a report on travel trends during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays.

Popular tourist cities Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu in Sichuan province, and Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong province remained the top spots for flight destinations during the two holidays.

Thanks to constantly renewed exhibitions and Red-themed experiential activities, Red tourism enjoyed a fresh surge in popularity. It covered diverse themes including sacred revolutionary sites, locations along the Long March route, and Red industrial heritage sites.

Hidden-gem counties and small cities, such as Dali in Yunnan province and Dujiangyan in Sichuan, recorded remarkable visitor figures. Spending holidays in these destinations has become a novel option for many people.

Trip.com data showed family travelers accounted for more than half of scenic spot ticket orders during the National Day holiday. Parents are more inclined to take their children into nature and close to animals, treating travel as an outdoor classroom.

According to the report, the theme park share of family orders fell from about 19 percent in 2024 to about 14 percent, while the share of nature sites rose from about 30 percent in 2024 to about 35 percent.

Young travelers are more inclined to visit historical sites and museums. For them, such venues have become must-visit destinations, and their preferences are also boosting the popularity of lesser-known ancient architectural sites and museums.

Among 20- to 25-year-olds, cultural scenic spots' share of orders rose from about 41 percent in 2024 to about 48 percent, and cultural scenic spots' orders from travelers under 30 grew about twice as fast as those from travelers over 30.

Culture remained the core draw for inbound visitors. The report revealed that the share of bookings for cultural scenic spots among inbound tourist orders rose from about 32 percent in 2024 to about 43 percent.

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, the Mutianyu Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, and the Temple of Heaven are among the top picks for visitors from the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Italy. Foreign visitors' spending is extending beyond flights and hotels to scenic areas, performances and day tours.