During the 2026 Spring Festival, Japan — once a top destination for Chinese outbound tourists —saw its popularity cut in half, while South Korea and Thailand emerged as the most sought-after choices.
In the first week of the Spring Festival travel rush, the busiest outbound flight routes included Shanghai Pudong–Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Shanghai Pudong–Seoul Incheon, and Qingdao Jiaodong–Seoul Incheon. South Korea and Thailand were locked in a close contest for the top spot in outbound travel.
South Korea benefited from its proximity and dense flight network, particularly between Shandong cities such as Qingdao and Yantai, and Seoul, effectively forming a one-hour travel circle. Meanwhile, Thailand stepped up marketing efforts on top of its visa-free policy, seeking to offset the lingering impact of earlier safety incidents.
Data showed that in the first week of the Spring Festival, passinger traffic between China and Japan dropped about 54% compared with the same period last year, and operated flights decreased by approximately 49%.
Routes with the sharpest year-on-year flight reductions included Shanghai to Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo; Beijing to Osaka; and Nanjing to Osaka. Chinese travel to Japan was effectively halved. By contrast, trips to South Korea were expected to increase by more than 20%. Media reports citing industry data suggested that Chinese arrivals in South Korea during the holiday could exceed 250,000, up 25% from last year, with total spending projected to surpass USD 330 million.
Thailand also moved aggressively to regain Chinese visitors. According to the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports, China ranked first among Thailand’s five largest source countries between February 2 and 8, with 569,000 arrivals. Chinese inbound travel to Thailand had recorded growth for more than five consecutive weeks.
Following a safety incident in early 2025, travel from China to Thailand suffered a significant setback, with mass flight and tour cancellations. Chinese tourist arrivals for 2025 dropped 35% to 3.31 million. More recently, Thailand emphasized its visa-free policy to ensure smoother entry for Chinese visitors and introduced targeted marketing campaigns for holidays to encourage Chinese tourists to “rediscover Thailand.”
With a record nine-day statutory holiday, the 2026 Spring Festival fueled a surge in cross-border travel. Southeast Asia, home to large overseas Chinese communities and a strong festive atmosphere, remained a preferred region for Chinese travelers celebrating the Lunar New Year abroad.
According to Tongcheng Travel data, Southeast Asia accounted for half of the top ten most-booked international flight destinations during the Spring Festival holiday, including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, and Bali.
