(Yicai) Oct. 9 -- Long-distance travel, tourism in smaller cities, inbound tourism, and artificial intelligence-enhanced cultural and tourism consumption emerged as new aspects of the holiday economy over China’s recent “Golden Week” break.

Some 2.14 billion cross-regional passenger trips were made in China over the National Day holiday from Oct. 1 to 7, up 0.6 percent from a year ago to average 306 million a day, according to the Ministry of Transport. That helped to unlock consumer spending potential and boost both online and offline consumption, said Gao Bo, deputy head of the ministry’s transport services department.

Tourist spending increased 4.3 percent to CNY738.3 billion (USD110 billion) in the period from a year earlier, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced today.

Robust travel demand shows that consumers are not necessarily unwilling to spend, said Luo Zhiheng, chief economist at Yuekai Securities, adding that the key question is how to convert that demand more fully and sustainably into consumption.

Expanding and upgrading cultural and tourism consumption will require refinements to institutional arrangements to address three main obstacles: ensuring people have time to travel, offering destinations and products that are worth visiting, and maintaining a trustworthy, well-regulated market, Luo said.

Self-driving remained the dominant means of travel during the so-called “Golden Week” break. Road passenger trips hit 1.96 billion, with self-driven journeys accounting for nearly 80 percent. Traffic levels involving new energy vehicles jumped 35 percent from a year ago, while rail and air traffic also remained at high levels.

Value-added tax invoice data showed that average daily sales across China’s service consumption-related industries climbed almost 20 percent year on year. Revenue from sightseeing and entertainment services, cultural and artistic services, and sports services rose about 24 percent, 21 percent, and 29 percent, respectively.

Extended Break

The relatively short three-day interval between the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays boosted interest in long-distance travel. The average one-way distance for domestic travel over the break increased to about 560 kilometers, according to data from online travel agency Trip.Com.

Bookings for destinations such as Xizang Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as well as the provinces of Guizhou and Qinghai rose significantly, Trip.Com’s figures showed, while air ticket sales on routes over 2,000 kilometers increased by more than 40 percent.

Tourism in smaller cities also gained traction. Visits to leisure and entertainment venues in third-tier and lower-tier cities more than tripled from the pre-holiday period, outpacing the growth rate in first- and second-tier cities, according to data from Meituan and Dianping, major local-life service platforms. Nanchang, Zhongshan, and Yangzhou were among the popular destinations.

Inbound tourism expanded further during the holiday. Foreign nationals made 682,000 entries into China, including 505,000 under visa-waiver policies, with the two numbers rising 5.4 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively. Cities and regions across China have been improving services for international visitors, including payment options, ticket booking, and itinerary planning, to make travel more convenient.

Meanwhile, AI is becoming more deeply integrated into cultural and tourism consumption. Meituan said searches for its AI concierge Xiaotuan climbed 29 percent over the holiday compared with the preceding period, as users sought information about local businesses. Demand for smart products also picked up, with sales of embodied AI robots, smart glasses, and similar products seeing rapid year-on-year growth.

Editor: Tom Litting