Data from Ctrip shows that long-distance travel orders accounted for 32% of total bookings this summer, while inter-provincial travel accounted for over 55%, indicating that tourists are allocating their time and budget to more distant destinations. Guangdong, Shandong, and Zhejiang remain the top three provinces in terms of visitor numbers, while Tibet, Inner Mongolia, and Guizhou, with double-digit growth rates, have driven the overall summer growth. The cool climate of Qianxinan, Liupanshui, and Yichun, the vastness of Baishan and Xilingol League, and the relaxed atmosphere of Anshun and Pu'er—these hidden gems of a small city are redefining summer travel options.

The popularity of scenic spot bookings across the country continues to rise during the summer of 2026.

Traditional mountains like Mount Tai and Mount Qingcheng remain popular, while cultural experiences such as performances, museums, and film and television collaborations are also gaining momentum. Orders for shows like "The Legend of Camel Bells," "Princess Wencheng," Longemont Taihu Performing Arts City, and the live-action performance "The Mighty Qin Dynasty" have increased by more than 1.5 times year-on-year, with "The Legend of Camel Bells" showing particularly strong growth. Cultural depth and immersive experiences have become new barriers to entry for these shows.

Trip.com's signature cultural tourism IP, "A Journey Like a Song," has been held in Qingdao, Shandong; Keketuhai, Xinjiang; Mile, Yunnan; and Wulong, Chongqing during the summer. These concerts deeply integrate local cultural characteristics, further amplifying the synergistic value of music and tourism. In Chongqing's Wulong, the concert, held in conjunction with the 17th Fairy Mountain Camping Music Festival, took place on a high-altitude meadow at 1900 meters above sea level and 21°C. Leveraging its summer resort environment, the concert attracted young tourists from across the city, receiving over 20,000 music fans and driving a more than 70% year-on-year increase in Wulong's tourism and a 230% year-on-year increase in scenic area ticket sales. In Qingdao, Shandong, the concert was held at the Laoshan venue of the Beer Festival, linking Laoshan and the Qingdao Beer Museum to create a one-stop route of "museum visit + seaside concert + fresh beer tasting," driving a 21% year-on-year increase in Laoshan's summer tourism. In Mile, Yunnan, the "A Journey Like a Song" IP achieved over 600 million online impressions, leading to a nearly 70% increase in hotel room nights in the surrounding area, demonstrating the continued consumer-driven effect of "one performance activating a city."

Museums and cultural sites are gaining popularity, transitioning from "tickets hard to come by" to "entry with just ID." Museum and cultural sites saw the fastest growth during the summer, with Prince Gong's Mansion increasing by 29%, Qingdao Beer Museum and Jinci Museum both growing by 36%. New experiences such as XR immersive exhibitions and "Museum Night" are transforming "museum visits" from simply viewing exhibits through windows to deeper engagement.

Film and television synergy is driving destination growth through the continued release of cinematic IPs. The film "The Eight Immortals" boosted visitor numbers in Datong, Shanxi, where it was filmed, by 20%, while "Grandma's Love Letter" boosted visitor numbers in Shantou by 18% and Jieyang by 8%. Film and television-driven tourism is transforming from sporadic events into a predictable channel for destinations to attract customers.

Accommodation preference data further confirms the deepening trend of experiential consumption. During the summer vacation, the popularity of hotel accommodations with distinctive cultural experiences surged, with ethnic-themed accommodations such as those featuring the Western Xia and Mongolian styles showing particularly strong growth. Meanwhile, hotels with convenient amenities, such as those directly connected to airport terminals and e-sports hotels, maintained steady growth. Connecting cultural immersion on one end and travel convenience on the other, accommodation is becoming a natural extension of the daytime sightseeing experience, rather than just a functional node in the itinerary.

The proportion of senior citizens among tourists during the summer vacation has increased significantly compared to the same period last year, and their travel preferences have clearly shifted towards a "slower pace and longer stay."

Liupanshui has ranked first among summer habitats for migratory elderly people for four consecutive years. Its cool climate has attracted a large number of senior tourists to come and escape the summer heat. Yichun, Qinghai and other places have also launched health and wellness routes specifically for the elderly. The trend of shifting from "tourism" to "staying in a place for leisure" is gradually taking shape.

While the proportion of family travel bookings increased, overall consumption performance was outstanding, with the average spending per family traveler reaching 1.8 times that of non-family travelers. Traveling with children has become a core engine of summer consumption. Family vacation consumption preferences showed two directions: quality vacation products such as customized group tours and chartered bus tours saw significant growth; experiential learning products such as museum-based classrooms, industrial tourism, and historical and cultural experiences gained popularity.

Nature adventure and theme parks dominate the list of preferred family-friendly tourist attractions. Zhijin Cave, Universal Beijing Resort, and Zhangjiajie National Forest Park rank among the top three most popular family-friendly destinations. While traditional popular attractions dominate the list, immersive attractions such as the Northeast Tiger Forest Park and Shenyang Fantawild are particularly noteworthy. From simply "seeing" to "playing," from passive observation to active participation, high interactivity and experiential elements are becoming the benchmarks for family travel choices.

Summer travel hotspots in 2026 exhibit a distinct "scenario-based" characteristic.

From the booming water tourism economy to the revitalization of ancient towns and villages through intangible cultural heritage and traditional Chinese style, from extended nighttime museum tours to the upgraded camping and stargazing economy, single-attraction check-ins are giving way to multi-element combined experiences. The TOP 10 hot spots cover ten tracks: water tourism, summer retreats, night tours, family activities, ticket stubs, performances, cultural relics, photo opportunities, outdoor activities, and culture, reflecting a profound shift in tourists' decision-making logic from "where to go" to "what to do + what to experience."

The number of inbound tourists during the summer of 2026 saw double-digit year-on-year growth, continuing the strong momentum of the first half of the year.

With the continuous expansion of visa-free policies and the full implementation of convenient payment methods, "China Travel" is rapidly transforming into "China Cool".

In terms of tourist source structure, the source map of Chinese inbound tourism is expanding from neighboring countries to a more diversified global market. The long-haul European market saw a collective surge during the summer, with orders increasing by 91% year-on-year, making "cross-border summer getaways" a new essential demand. Looking at the growth rate of source countries, Russia led the pack with a 210% year-on-year increase, firmly holding the top spot among inbound tourist source countries for the summer; Spain saw a 123% year-on-year increase, while the UK and Malaysia both grew by 59%, and Australia by 49%.

Meanwhile, South Korean tourists have become an important part of inbound tourism during the summer. Zhangjiajie saw a surge in both the number and speed of South Korean tourists, while Suzhou also attracted a large number of South Korean visitors, showing outstanding growth in tourist numbers. Suzhou's advantages come from two aspects: on one hand, a continuously improving multilingual service system combined with the locational and transportation advantages of being adjacent to Shanghai; on the other hand, policy innovation. Suzhou took the lead in the country by launching a special subsidy program for attracting inbound tourists, providing strong policy support for attracting overseas tourists.

From a provincial perspective, traditionally popular provinces such as Shanghai, Guangdong, Beijing, Sichuan, and Zhejiang remain at the top, while the growth rate of inbound tourists in central and western provinces and northeastern provinces such as Hunan, Chongqing, and Heilongjiang has increased significantly. Notably, Chongqing has consistently ranked among the top ten provinces in terms of inbound tourists, with its growth rate also rising. From a city perspective, Zhangjiajie led the nation with a 197% year-on-year increase in inbound tourists, followed closely by Sanya, Chongqing, Dali, and Guilin.

Tianjin, a northern port city, also became a significant growth engine for inbound tourism during the summer. Benefiting from the 240-hour visa-free transit policy and visa-free policies for cruise tour groups, Tianjin International Cruise Home Port saw nearly 66,000 cruise passengers during the summer, with foreign passengers increasing by nearly 15% year-on-year. South Korean and Russian tourists saw particularly strong growth. The city pioneered a "cruise ship arrival + flight return" air-sea intermodal model, opening up a cross-border travel channel for overseas tourists to "enter by cruise ship and exit by flight." Overseas tourists not only visited the Five Avenues with their international architecture, the Haihe River night cruise, and the ancient cultural street's folk customs and intangible cultural heritage, but also explored the Huangyaguan Great Wall in Jizhou, staying in mountain homestays to experience the cool comfort at the foot of the Great Wall. In addition to classic sightseeing, in-depth local experiences such as gourd pyrography, Peking Opera, and traditional Chinese medicine health and wellness were very popular with overseas tourists, making Tianjin a key representative of "China Cool" in the north.

In terms of preferred ways to experience attractions, classic IPs such as Shanghai Disneyland, Chengdu Panda Base, Terracotta Warriors, Zhangjiajie, and the Forbidden City remain the top choices for inbound tourists. Meanwhile, foreign tourists have quietly upgraded their experiences, with "living like a local" becoming a new pursuit, such as visiting farmers' markets, practicing Baduanjin (a form of traditional Chinese exercise), and experiencing intangible cultural heritage handicrafts.

In the summer of 2026, the landscape of Chinese travel clearly expanded through several sets of figures. Long-distance travel accounted for 32% of total travel, and inter-provincial travel exceeded 55%, with tourists investing more time and budget in distant destinations. Performances, cultural heritage sites, and film and television productions saw increased popularity, with people traveling to cities for a single show becoming the norm. The average spending per family trip reached 1.8 times that of non-family trips, and the elderly population shifted from tourism to extended stays, with both spending power and length of stay increasing. Inbound tourism saw significant growth, with European visitors increasing by 91%. From Disneyland to early morning Baduanjin exercises, foreign tourists are becoming a part of everyday life in China. Behind these figures, a more relaxed, immersive, and open era of travel has quietly arrived.

(Source: China.com)