China anticipates 27% increase in border crossings during May Day holidays, overseas destinations led by Japan, ROK and SE Asia

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By Shen Sheng, Liang Rui (Global Times) 15:19, April 29, 2025

China is expected to see 2.15 million daily border crossings during the upcoming five-day May Day holidays, representing a 27 percent increase from last year, according to the National Immigration Administration on Monday. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said that popular international destinations for Chinese tourists include Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.

The peak of cross-border travel is anticipated on May 1 and May 5. Traffic at China's major international airports is set to grow steadily, with Shanghai Pudong expected to lead with 101,000 daily crossings, followed by Guangzhou Baiyun at 50,000 and Beijing Capital at 45,000, the administration said, according to the Xinhua News Agency on Monday.

The passenger volume for domestic flights is expected to reach a record of 10.75 million, marking an 8 percent increase from 2024. Peak travel days at the start and end of the holidays are expected to exceed 2.3 million passengers, according to Shang Kejia, a deputy director general of the CAAC Air Transport Department.

For domestic routes, the majority of travelers are concentrated on key routes between the four major city clusters: Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao, and Chengdu-Chongqing. So far, the highest booking volumes have been on routes between Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, as well as between Beijing and Shenzhen or Chengdu, Shang said.

Regarding international routes, popular destinations remain Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. Shang also said that with the continued optimization of entry and transit visa policies and the gradual rollout of services like instant tax refunds, the number of inbound foreign tourists is expected to rise, prompting international airlines to increase flight frequencies.

China unveiled a set of measures on Sunday to further optimize its departure tax refund policy to better meet overseas tourists' needs and expand inbound consumption, Xinhua reported.

Responding to a question on the trending topic "China Shopping" alongside the continued facilitation of inbound tourism and the departure tax refund policy, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday that the robust spending by inbound tourists reflects China's efforts in easing visa policies, enhancing payment accessibility, and streamlining the tax refund policy, as well as the sincerity of China's commitment to continued opening-up and bringing benefits to all countries.

Commenting on media reports that inbound tourism bookings have increased by 173 percent year-on-year for the upcoming May Day holidays, Guo said that "we welcome more foreign friends to come to China, enjoy their time here, and let high-quality, competitively priced 'Made in China' products enter every household, benefiting more people."

During the May Day holidays, the outbound tourism market has seen a gradual increase in popularity compared to last year, the Global Times learned from travel platform Trip.com.

Data from travel platform Fliggy confirmed this trend and showed that the per capita booking volume for outbound travel products has increased 12 percent year-on-year, with air tickets and hotel bookings significantly surpassing last year's figures, while attraction ticket bookings surged 150 percent.

Benefiting from increased flight routes and visa facilitation policies, some short- and medium-haul outbound destinations have become popular choices for Chinese travelers during the holidays, according to Li.

"I decided to vacation in Indonesia's Bali a few months ago because the flight tickets are more cost-effective, the tourism industry there is well-developed," a Beijing resident surnamed Lin told the Global Times on Monday.

In addition to flight prices, this year's May Day holidays coincide with Japan's "Golden Week," causing a significant rise in hotel prices in Japan, according to the Trip.com. This has sparked widespread discussion among travelers, with many claiming, "The more you search for hotels, the more expensive they get — it's definitely the platform taking advantage of us!"

However, a representative surnamed Li from Trip.com explained to the Global Times that this is not an example of "big data manipulation" but rather a result of the basic principles of market supply and demand. The surge in travelers during the May Day holidays has led to a shortage of available hotel rooms, prompting real-time price adjustments by hotels, not an intentional price increase triggered by repeated searches.

Besides, "the ticket prices are adjusted by the airline's revenue management system based on market supply and demand dynamics, and social media comments are not part of the pricing considerations," the representative added, dismissing such claims as pseudoscience.

Additionally, Fliggy said that personalized experience-based activities have gained traction. Anime-themed experiences and light adventure activities are particularly popular among travelers, with bookings for such "scenario-based services" seeing a strong demand.