On 1 October, 20% of Qunar (去哪儿旅行) travelers were already in a second city, according to Qunar data reported by Pinchain (品橙旅游) (in Chinese). The platform expected its users to check into hotels and guesthouses in more than 1,000 Chinese county towns and 2,000+ cities worldwide.

The numbers behind the shift

The report says nearly 30% of travelers had booked hotels in two or more cities, and the average stay was 3.2 days. Bookings spanning four or more cities rose 53%. Across the double holiday, multi-city hotel orders rose 30%, with three-city bookings up 35%, per the same report.

Looking outward, short-haul international destinations such as Bangkok, Seoul, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore remain mainstream.

On top of that, Qunar says long-haul international destinations, such as Europe, South America and Australia/New Zealand products grew more than 40%. Searches for flights to Belgium, Hungary and Portugal grew over 80%. Hotel bookings in Italy, Greece, Switzerland and Iceland more than doubled.

The number I would watch is hotel bookings for itineraries covering two or more countries, such as France plus Italy. They rose 120% year on year.

Niche no more

The far end of the map is where the growth is loudest. Qunar data reported by Beijing Business Today (北京商报) on 8 September showed flight bookings to São Paulo, Lisbon and Santiago, all more than 10,000 km away, doubling. Qunar tied this to visa-free policies or new flight routes (BBT News, in Chinese).

Spring Tour (春秋旅游) said outbound trips were over 50% of its bookings for the holiday. Its transoceanic long-haul groups to Spain and Portugal, the Balkans, the Nordics, Greece and New Zealand sold out in mid-August, earlier than the planned end-of-August sales window.

North America is getting the heat back. Zhongxin Travel (众信旅游) reported North America travelers up 480% year on year, which it linked to the World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, and Australia/New Zealand up 326%.

Promising as it seems on paper, treat these with care. Each comes from one operator or platform, they are pre-holiday bookings, and none comes with absolute numbers.

Xiaohongshu is where the decisions get made

If you know RedNote (Xiaohongshu), then you know that is where the route gets built. Queries such as "where to go, how to play, what route to take, what hotel to stay in" are highly searched on the platform. That is a description of how a multi-stop trip gets planned.

For a hotel, the point is the "what hotel" search. If a bureau campaign pulls travelers into the platform, they will look for a property. Dubai and Australia show bureaus bringing hotels and operators in as partners, so ask your DMO how to join. Then make sure the content ends on a booking path you control, not only on a platform listing.

Why everyone left early

Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day fall only three days apart this year. Chinese travelers can bridge the two with "请3休13" (take 3 days of leave, get 13 days off). Many left before 1 October, so a share of them were already on the move by the time Golden Week officially began.

What it means for hotels and DMOs

Direct sales.

Every figure above is an OTA's own booking data. On a multi-stop trip, the platform sees the whole route. Your property sees one block of nights. If the platform owns the guest relationship, it also decides which stop comes next, and it may not be you.

A direct booking puts that back in your hands. You keep the commission. You own the guest's contact details and preferences, so the repeat stay and the referral come to you, not to the OTA. And you can talk to the guest before arrival: ask where they go next, then build the stay around the route, with a partner in the next city or a private experience that makes the detour worth it.

Hotels could reward a second stay booked direct with a named partner. DMOs could link route pages and trade tools to bookable hotels and local operators, not only to platform listings. Either way, track what share of your Chinese guests book direct.

Premium Europe.

Hotel bookings in Italy, Greece, Switzerland and Iceland more than doubled, which suggests room for premium positioning. Spring Tour's deputy general manager, Zhou Weihong, said travelers are no longer chasing low-price check-ins and will pay more for scarce scenery, exclusive itineraries and deeper experiences (BBT News, in Chinese).

Xiaohongshu is a must.

This goes for every travel business reading this, not only hotels. If the OTA owns the booking, the planning stage is your last chance to reach the traveler first, and Xiaohongshu is where Chinese travelers plan. A hotel that isn't there doesn't make the route. For agencies and DMCs, it is the shop window for custom itineraries an OTA can't package. Post what route-builders ask about: how many nights, what comes next, what is worth the detour. Brochure photos answer none of it.