Spending over China’s multi-day public holidays is an important marker of the country’s consumer confidence, which has suffered amid a challenging economic backdrop and a prolonged property crisis, even as exports have proved surprisingly resilient.
Over the May 1-5 holiday, the number of people taking trips rose 3.49% over the same period in 2025, the Ministry of Transport said. The State Administration of Taxation said sales revenue of consumption-related industries during the holiday increased by 14.3% year-on-year, based on invoice data.
Data usually released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism the day after China’s long holidays covering overall trips and spending was not released as expected on Wednesday.
A ministry spokesperson, who declined to be identified, told Reuters he “wasn’t sure” why the data had not yet been released and wasn’t aware of the timing of any future release.
Since emerging from the restrictions of the Covid pandemic, China’s holiday periods have seen a boom in domestic travel, though per capita spending has lagged.
Consumer belt-tightening has contributed to ongoing deflationary pressures in the world’s second-largest economy in recent years. Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, grew 1.7% in March, slowing from 2.8% growth in January-February and below analysts’ expectations.
As of 2025, Chinese travellers were still spending less per May holiday trip at 574.1 yuan (US$84.36) than pre-COVID when they spent 603.4 yuan, Reuters calculations based on official data showed.
“Broadly, travel has been on the upswing, there has been growth in trips and lodging bookings, as well as on food spending,” said Ben Cavender, managing director at Shanghai-based China Market Research Group.
“Having said that, it’s also very clear that consumers are still being very value driven in terms of how they spend,” he added.
According to China Index Academy, one of China’s largest real estate data providers, new-home sales by floor area in 26 key cities reached 518,000 square metres during the 2026 Labour Day holiday, up 12.5% from a year earlier.
Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Wuhan introduced stimulus measures in late April, including easing home-purchase restrictions and offering home-buying subsidies. Their property markets warmed noticeably during the holiday, while most other cities saw relatively stable market conditions.
Hobbies and experiences dictate destination choice
The holiday period saw major tourist attractions and cultural sites bustling with visitors, as travelers flocked to both traditional hotspots and emerging destinations to celebrate the break.
Alibaba-owned travel platform Fliggy, along with social media site Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote in English, said in a jointly-released ‘2026 Labor Day Holiday Travel Trends Report’ that interest-led itineraries focused on food and photography, for example, have become major drivers of destination choice for Chinese travellers.
Xiaohongshu data shows that 69% of users now select destinations based on personal interests, while experiential products on Fliggy’s platform outpaced overall platform growth during the holiday.
H World Group, a hospitality company that operated more than 12,700 hotels in China last year, said holiday demand was robust and it recorded a 13.6% increase in total room nights year-on-year.
But the holiday film market – another gauge of consumption health – delivered a lacklustre performance.
According to statistics from the China Film Administration, this year’s May Day holiday total box office revenue reached 758 million yuan, with 20.8 million moviegoers, up 1.41% and 10.23% year-on-year, with no standout box-office leader emerging.
The average ticket price was 36.3 yuan, down 8% from the same period last year.