Shanghai Pudong airport handled more than 319,000 inbound and outbound crossings in the first three days of the National Day holiday, according to CAAC News (中国民航网). Roughly two-thirds of outbound mainland residents chose short-haul East Asia, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan. Nearly 30% flew long-haul to Europe, the Americas, Oceania or Africa.

The numbers behind the 30%

The same CAAC News report puts mainland residents at about 220,000 of the 319,000 crossings, or 69%. Foreign arrivals through Pudong reached 43,000, up about 23.5% year on year. Border inspection counts crossings by people, not distinct trips, so one traveler leaving and returning counts twice.

Booking data points the same way. According to Qunar (去哪儿) data reported by Pinchain, short-haul cities such as Bangkok, Seoul, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore top outbound demand. Europe, South America and Australia/New Zealand products still rose over 40% year on year, and hotel bookings in Italy, Greece, Switzerland and Iceland more than doubled.

Why 13 days changes behavior

Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day fall three days apart this year. Many workers took about three days of leave to get 13 days off in a row, a practice called "pinjia" (拼假, stitching holidays). CAAC News credits the stitched holiday with helping push up the long-haul share.

With five or six days off, a traveler picks Bangkok or Seoul. With 13, the same person can fly to Zurich, add Italy and still be home before work starts. Pudong's figures show that trade-off playing out at scale.

Notable trend: Fans plan trips around events

The CAAC News report also points to a pull on the inbound side: "跟着赛事去旅行"正成为外国旅客入境的新理由 ("Traveling to follow a sporting event" is becoming a new reason for foreign visitors to come in). In Shanghai, the clearest case is the Rolex Shanghai Masters, which began Oct. 5.

Last year's tournament figures show how far fans will go for it. The 2025 edition spanned National Day and Mid-Autumn and drew about 250,000 visits, and ticket revenue passed 100 million yuan for the first time, according to Yicai (第一财经). About 60% of spectators came from mainland cities outside Shanghai and about 10% from overseas, roughly 25,000 visits.

This year the organizers sell travel along with seats. According to Yicai, the 2026 ticket range includes a "ticket + transport + accommodation" package for out-of-town and international visitors, plus a "Masters Carnival" on Oct. 1-4 (60 yuan entry, redeemable as vouchers) timed to the National Day holiday.

If your destination hosts a major tennis, motorsport or music event, the fans who follow it plan around the date, and the hotel night becomes part of the product.

Multi-country trips are the direct-booking opening

Qunar reports that hotel orders combining two or more countries rose 120% year on year, with pairings like Singapore plus Malaysia, France plus Italy, and Kenya plus Tanzania. Flights to Cape Town rose 4.3 times, and São Paulo flights doubled after visa-free entry, per the same Pinchain report.

If you run a hotel in Europe, Oceania or Africa, build joint itineraries with properties in the neighboring country. A Chinese traveler booking two countries wants one plan and one Chinese-language contact, and OTAs provide both by default. Two partner hotels or a DMC that offer this directly can compete on service and avoid paying the OTA commission.

What to put in the offer:

• A 7-12 night package that fits a stitched holiday, with the second stop and the transfers between stops already arranged. Transfers are where self-planned trips get hard.

• Chinese-language booking and support, so the traveler has no reason to go through an OTA.

Neither source says how many of these travelers book direct, so test the offer on a small scale before you commit budget.

What to do next

• Track Shanghai-origin demand separately. Ask your reservations team or DMC partners to tag bookings by origin city. National totals will blur the long-haul interest Pudong shows.

• Short-haul markets: compete beyond price. Two-thirds of outbound residents still chose nearby destinations, so competition for them is intense. Chinese-language direct channels and repeat-visit offers give you something an OTA price list can't.

• Check your event calendar. List the sports and entertainment events in your destination that Chinese fans already follow, and approach organizers about room-plus-ticket packages 3-4 months out.

• Plan around the next stitched window. This 13-day break came from the calendar plus a few days of leave. Check where the next holiday gaps fall and launch offers 8-12 weeks ahead, while travelers are still deciding when to take leave.

Sources

• CAAC News (China Civil Aviation News): 国庆假期前三天 浦东机场口岸跨境出行累计近32万

• Pinchain: 去哪儿旅行：20%游客已玩到“第二城” - 品橙旅游

• Yicai (第一财经)

• Yicai