Chongqing - As the National Day holiday approaches, domestic travel bookings are experiencing a surge. According to Meituan Travel, the top 10 most popular destinations for flight bookings during the "Golden Week" holiday are: Shanghai, Chengdu, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Kunming, Chongqing, Xi'an, Nanjing, and Hangzhou.

Data from Meituan Travel shows that young people are the dominant group driving this surge in travel bookings. Among flight bookings for the National Day holiday, individuals aged 18-29 account for 46%. A spokesperson for Meituan Travel explained that young people tend to travel in groups, with many also taking advantage of "time-off pairing" to extend their holidays. In addition, there has been an increase in family travel during the holiday. Older generations, on the other hand, are more likely to travel after the holiday rush, particularly after October 8.

A view of Chongqing's urban landscape. (Photo/Chen Xin)

Users aged 30 and under make up an even larger proportion of those traveling to destinations outside their home regions. Their demand for cultural and tourism experiences is more diverse, with a preference for longer and more immersive trips. Young consumers are also willing to travel farther and spend more for unique experiences, driving a surge in demand for medium—and long-distance travel. Travel within distances of over 300 kilometers is seeing an increase of more than 15%.

“I didn’t have the budget for long trips when I was a student, but now, working and saving up, I can finally afford to travel to Xinjiang with my friends,” said Xiao Liu, who works in Beijing. He is eagerly anticipating the upcoming holiday, marking his first long-distance trip since graduation. He and his friends have taken three days off to enjoy a 12-day journey through Altai, visiting scenic spots like Hemu, Sayram Lake, and Nalati to experience the autumn beauty of Xinjiang.

For National Day travel, booking tickets is a priority. According to Meituan Travel’s predictions, the peak booking periods for both flights and train tickets will be from September 15-18 and September 22-23, with September 16 expected to be the peak day. On this date, tickets for the day before the holiday, September 30, will also go on sale.

To ensure smooth booking and travel experiences, Meituan Travel has launched the “Early Booking for National Day Travel” campaign. From now until September 16, new customers can receive a no-threshold train ticket coupon, saving 15 RMB when they book their tickets during the holiday period. Additionally, from September 10 to October 12, new customers can claim a 30 RMB flight coupon.

One of the main concerns for travelers during the National Day holiday is how to handle overpriced flight tickets. To address this, Meituan Travel has introduced two new features: "Price Comparison Across Platforms" and "Price Drop Compensation." Starting now, if a user books a flight ticket with the "Price Comparison" tag and finds a lower price for the same flight on another platform within 30 minutes of booking, they can submit a screenshot for double the price difference as compensation. Additionally, for flights booked with the "Price Drop Compensation" tag, users who purchase the feature will receive a refund of the price difference if the ticket price drops after the booking and before the flight departs.