Qingming Holiday Flight Bookings Grew About 27% Year-over-Year, Flower-Viewing Tours Upgraded and Iterated

Staff Reporter Xu Linyan

This year’s multiple spring holidays combined with the Qingming Festival have driven a hot travel market in April. As many parts of the country enter the blooming season, flower viewing trips have become the “main theme” of Qingming travel this year, with a significant increase in flight bookings to popular flower viewing cities. In addition to traditional popular check-in spots remaining popular, a number of niche cities with unique cultural and tourism resources are gradually becoming new travel choices for travelers.

Flight Bookings Surge

Data from Ctrip shows that by March 18, during the Qingming holiday in 2026, domestic flight bookings exceeded 1.31 million tickets, a roughly 27% increase compared to the same period last year; international flight bookings exceeded 540,000 tickets, about a 14% increase year-over-year.

Among the top domestic destinations, Shanghai and Beijing remain the top two, with Chengdu flight bookings surpassing 100,000 tickets, more than doubling from last year, making it a potential “traffic magnet” for this year’s Qingming holiday. Guangzhou, Kunming, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Nanjing, and Xi’an follow closely, becoming the top ten popular cities for Qingming. Notably, flight bookings for Guangzhou and Nanjing increased by over 60% year-over-year, ranking among the highest growth rates.

Beyond the popular cities, a group of third-tier cities with natural scenery and niche features are becoming the “new treasure destinations” for Qingming travel this year. Data from Ctrip shows significant year-over-year growth in flight bookings for Mianyang, Wuyishan, Yancheng, and Mangshi.

Additionally, some travelers are looking for “bargain” tickets to less crowded and affordable cities. Currently, on Ctrip’s official airline direct sales platform, during the Qingming holiday, routes such as Shanghai—Nanchang, Shanghai—Baicheng, and Beijing—Nanchang still offer special tickets around 300 yuan.

Hybrid Flower Viewing Tours Become a New Trend

Li Mengran, Media Relations Manager of Zhongxin Tourism Group Co., Ltd. (“Zhongxin Tourism”), told Securities Daily that spring flower viewing tours are an important driver of cultural and tourism consumption recovery. “This year, Zhongxin Tourism’s flower viewing market continues to flourish both domestically and abroad, with more destination options and more diverse product types.”

Data from Zhongxin Tourism shows that the outbound flower viewing market features “continued popularity of classic destinations and emerging new ones.” The Netherlands, Belgium, and Canada are the top three popular outbound destinations for flower viewing. As Canada’s tourism market continues to recover, flight capacity steadily increases, and local spring flower viewing products have become more affordable, making Canada a new hot spot for outbound flower viewing trips this year.

With tourism consumption upgrading, flower viewing has shifted from simple sightseeing to a “flower viewing + culture + experience + interaction” integrated travel activity. “Spring flower viewing is no longer just a visual check-in; it’s an immersive and beautiful experience,” Li Mengran told Securities Daily.

“This year’s flower viewing tours feature a comprehensive upgrade in experience, shifting from simple photo check-ins to multi-faceted immersive activities such as flower viewing + homestays, camping, Hanfu costumes, night tours, and cultural creations. The consumption scenarios are richer, and the demand is becoming more refined,” said Yu Xiaoming, Senior Investment Advisor at Jufeng Investment Consulting, to Securities Daily.

(Editor: Qiao Chuan Chuan)