China is expecting a surge in outbound trips during the upcoming week-long National Day holiday and an even greater increase of 60 percent in inbound travels thanks to the country's 144-hour visa-free transit policy.
The National Day holiday, which starts Oct 1 and is known as 'Golden Week', is one of China's biggest annual public holidays.
According to the data from Qunar, a leading Chinese online travel platform, the placed orders for flights and hotels for the holiday have covered 1,597 cities in 144 countries.
Among the destinations, most are within the five-hour flight, with Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Osaka at the top.
The Immigration Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region estimates that about 10.03 million people will enter the city by sea, land and air from Sept 28 to Oct 7, and the Hong Kong Airlines will handle 14 percent more passengers than in the same period last year.
In the meantime, the declining ticket prices due to the rapid resumption of international flights will also lead to a higher number of long outbound trips during the holiday, with African countries claiming more than half of the newly added destinations.
"Many popular long-haul tourism products for the holiday to Europe, the Middle East and Africa have been sold out over one month ahead. The sales of tickets for flights to Egypt, Türkiye, Hungary and Kenya have increased by more than three times year on year," said Teng Hao, a senior researcher.
At present, foreign nationals from 54 countries such as the United States, Canada, and Britain are eligible for the 144-hour visa-free policy at 37 entry ports across China for the purpose of short-term activities such as travel and business visits.
In addition, traditional tourism cities such as Guangzhou in the southern province of Guangdong, Xi'an in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, and Zhangjiajie in the central province of Hunan, have constantly increased international flight routes to attract more foreign tourists.
Zhangjiajie's sources of tourists have increased from 133 countries and regions in 2019 to the current 171 countries and regions.
"We are from Thailand. Zhangjiajie is a natural world heritage site with a breathtaking scenery. Each tour group has 35 members. We came together in five groups with more than 100 people," said a tour guide from Thailand.
"The Zhangjiajie port has been hustling since the Mid-Autumn Festival, with around 1,200 people entering the city per day. Based on the current trend, this figure is expected to rise to around 1,500, an increase of 20 percent," said Zhuo Xing, a border inspection officer at the port.
China expects surges in entry-exit trips during upcoming National Day holiday
Geoeconomic confrontation is the leading short-term global threat in 2026, the World Economic Forum (WEF) warned in its Global Risks Report 2026 released on Wednesday ahead of its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
The report ranks geoeconomic confrontation as the top risk for 2026, followed by interstate conflict, extreme weather, societal polarization, and misinformation and disinformation. It also identifies geoeconomic confrontation as the most severe risk over the next two years.
"I think if there is to be one key takeaway from the report, it's that we are entering an age of competition and this new competitive order is then shaping current global risks, but it is also shaping and to some extent hindering our ability to actually cope with them. That's really the key takeaway. If we take a look at, the number one risk both for 2026 and two years out, it's dual economic confrontation. But then if we look at the risks 10 years out. It's really the climate and environment related risks. All of these things require global cooperation and that's where we're seeing a big backsliding in this new age of competition," said Saadia Zahidi, managing director of the WEF.
Economic risks showed the largest increase in the two-year outlook, with concerns over economic downturns, inflation, rising debt and potential asset bubbles intensifying amid geoeconomic tensions, the report said.
Environmental risks remain the most severe overall, led by extreme weather, biodiversity loss and critical changes to Earth systems. The report noted that three-quarters of respondents expect a turbulent environmental outlook.
Risks related to adverse outcomes of artificial intelligence rose sharply, climbing from 30th in the two-year horizon to fifth in the 10-year outlook, reflecting concerns over impacts on labor markets, society and security.
The 21st edition of the report draws on views from more than 1,300 experts, policymakers and industry leaders.
The WEF's annual meeting will be held in Davos from Jan 19 to 23 and draw nearly 3,000 guests from more than 130 countries and regions to participate.
"So overall, we are starting to see this shift away from what have traditionally been the ways in which people have been able to cooperate. Now, that is not to say that any of this is a foregone conclusion. And I think that's a really important message around the risks report. None of this is set in stone. All of this is in the hands of leaders. Whether they choose to cooperate and invest in resilience or whether they do not. So that's really what we'll be focused on next week in Davos bringing leaders together under this overall theme of 'a spirit of dialogue' and trying to reestablish relationships, cooperation and trust. That's the fundamental," said Zahidi.
WEF warns of rising geoeconomic risks in 2026
