As the eagerly anticipated 2026 Spring Festival holiday season spans nine days, many Chinese travelers are crafting their travel itineraries for both domestic and international destinations.
This year's extended Spring Festival holiday season will run from Feb. 15 to 23.
Although the holiday season is still weeks away, there are already bustling scenes at a travel agency in eastern Beijing's Chaoyang District, with residents seen busy consulting and signing travel agreements, and popular travel routes have already entered the rush booking stage.
"I'm thinking of going to Spain and Portugal during the Spring Festival holiday season. A price range of around 20,000 to 30,000 yuan (2,868-4,302 U.S. dollars) is quite acceptable," said a customer.
Booking data shows that this year's outbound travel market is experiencing robust growth. Overall bookings for long-distance outbound trips to destinations such as France, Switzerland, Italy, the UK, Spain, and Portugal have surged by approximately 60 percent compared to the same period last year. Short-distance outbound travel has seen an even more dramatic increase, with a year-on-year growth rate of 160 percent, as destinations like Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Maldives remain highly sought after.
Simultaneously, the extended holiday is also creating greater consumer opportunities within the domestic tourism market.
"I'm planning to go to northeast China, including Harbin, with my friends. I just saw a package that costs over 6,000 yuan (860 U.S. dollars) per person. With the extended holiday, we won't feel rushed and can take our time to explore other activities. It allows for a more relaxed travel experience," said a customer.
"Domestic tourism bookings have surged by 300 percent compared to the same period last year. It is obvious that domestic travel options, whether cultural experiences, ice and snow tourism, or warm-weather escapes, are emerging as the top choices for travelers this year," said Li Mengran, media and public relations manager of a tourism group.
Extended holiday boosts Spring Festival travel market
The death toll from a landslide in Cisarua, West Bandung Regency, West Java, rose to 34 on Monday as Indonesian rescue teams were stepping up their efforts to search for dozens of people still believed to be trapped under thick mud and debris.
According to the disaster management agency in West Bandung, more than 300 rescue personnel have been currently deployed in the disaster area, including teams from West Java's emergency services, the military and the police.
Additional rescuers have also been dispatched from neighboring provinces to support the search operations.
"With the increase in the number of rescue and search personnel today, we hope the rescue efforts can go deeper and become more effective. Meanwhile, the national search and rescue agency has dispatched additional teams from Yogyakarta, while rescuers from Central Java have also joined the operation," said Asep Sehabudin, head of the West Bandung disaster management agency.
Family members of the victims and local volunteers have also joined forces in the rescue and search efforts, hoping to assist the authorities in any way they can.
Villager Asep Heri said he had lost four relatives, his uncle and aunt, as well as their children, in the disaster. He was among the volunteers trying to find his daughter.
"I will continue searching until my child is found. No matter the circumstances, I will stay here and keep searching. The bodies of my uncle and aunt have already been found and buried," he said.
Local volunteers said the disaster had gravely affected nearby communities.
"My school is just about two kilometers from the landslide site. Several students and their family members, as well as the relatives of school staff, were among those killed. Helping in the rescue is what we, as volunteers, must do," said a volunteer named Muhamad Yunus Bahtiar.
The landslide on Saturday was triggered by heavy rainfall over two consecutive nights, which saturated steep slopes in the mountainous Cisarua area. Torrents of earth, rocks and uprooted trees swept through residential areas, plantations and forest land.
Indonesia frequently suffers from floods and landslides during the rainy season, which typically lasts from October to March.
Landslide death toll from Indonesia's West Java rises to 26 amid intensified search operations
