BEIJING: The National Day holiday, overlapping with this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, will last from September 29 to October 6, with consumption expected to mark another peak during this period.
A total of 190 million passengers are estimated to travel by rail, with passenger flow reaching its height on September 29. More than 20 million of which are set to travel on the first day of the holiday season.
Around 11,500 passenger trains will be operating every day to meet holiday demand, an increase of 1,850 trains compared to the daily average, according to the country’s railway operator China Railway.
China’s Ministry of Transport estimated that the number of cross-region road trips in the country will reach 2.05 billion passenger trips, with average daily trips increasing 11.5 percent over the same period in 2019, and 58.8 percent over the same period in 2022.
In particular, road traffic in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Chengdu-Chongqing regions are expected to increase by more than 40 percent compared with the same period in 2022. During the holiday, the number of average daily cross-border travelers will reach 1.58 million, more than tripling the same period last year, according to a forecast released by the country’s immigration administration Wednesday. The rebound is attributed to continuous recovery of international flights and travel policies such as visa exemption.
In addition, a series of measures have been launched by the authorities to stimulate consumption and enrich the holiday experience.
For example, north China’s Heilongjiang Province is issuing more than 28.55 million yuan ($3.91 million) worth of consumption coupons, while Henan Province in central China is encouraging businesses to extend operating hours. –Agencies
