Spring Festival holiday plan announced 9-day vacation drives up the search volume for air tickets

Today, the General Office of the State Council issued a notice regarding the arrangement of some holidays in 2026. The Spring Festival holiday in 2026 will last from February 15, 2026 to February 23, 2026, a total of nine days. Less than half an hour after the news was released, the search volume for train tickets and international flights during the New Year and Spring Festival periods on online travel booking platforms doubled instantly, and is still trending upwards. With an extra day added to the holiday, it is expected to stimulate more travel. As of now, the number of flight bookings for the 2026 Spring Festival has increased by 63% compared to the same period in 2025. In terms of search volume, the most popular domestic tourist cities during the Spring Festival period are still Sanya, Dali, Harbin, Haikou, and Xishuangbanna, while the destinations with the most significant increase in popularity for outbound travel are Berlin, Germany and Melbourne, Australia. Experts believe that the longer Spring Festival holiday will help stagger travel times and increase the number of travelers during the holiday. Daily passenger flow will be more balanced, making travel more comfortable. Overall, it is expected that there will be a record high number of travelers and trips during the Spring Festival.