China's National Day holiday once again attracted attention due to the astonishing scale of travel. The State Council Information Office recently reported that, according to analysis and forecasts, the total number of cross-regional people traveling during the 7-day National Day holiday will reach 2.13 billion person-times, averaging about 300 million person-times per day, which is approximately 1.7 times the normal number.
This year, there are only 3 working days between the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day. Many people have managed to get a 13-day long holiday, which provides even more time for those who want to travel abroad. It’s not uncommon to see sensational news reports about Chinese tourists being “scattered all over the world”, like “black fungus that has bloomed”.
However, some Japanese media that failed to enjoy this "tourism bonus" are quite frustrated: This year, there are hardly any Chinese tourists in Japan.
On October 5th, local time, the Japanese online magazine ‘Wedge’ reported that in previous years, Japanese media would often show footage of Chinese tourists arriving at airports or live broadcasts of Chinese people shopping in Asakusa and Ginza in Tokyo. “But this year, such reports are completely absent.”
The article mentions a 30-year-old Chinese female friend who lives in Shenzhen, Guangdong. She posted a short video on social media showing her family driving back to their hometown in Guangdong. During the night drive, the family was chatting happily, full of anticipation for the holiday. The woman said, “This year, the highways are free, so we plan to spend time with our family back home in a relaxed manner. A colleague mentioned that he plans to travel to Yunnan and Guizhou, as they are close to Guangdong. Japan? I haven’t even thought about it.”
Japanese media focuses on China’s National Day outbound travel: No Japanese cities make it into the top ten
There are not a few such cases, which makes Japanese media wonder: Where have the Chinese people who no longer travel to Japan gone?
Reports cite a survey by the Chinese travel platform Tongcheng Travel, which shows that this year’s popular destinations in China include Urumqi in Xinjiang, Kunming in Yunnan, as well as Chongqing, Chengdu in Sichuan, Beijing, and Shanghai. World Heritage sites like the Great Wall in the suburbs of Beijing and bustling Nanjing Road in Shanghai are also popular among tourists from all over the world.
Those who don’t want to face crowds or prefer not to use public transportation will choose to drive to remote areas where there are fewer people, to camp and fish, enjoying a leisurely journey.
In terms of outbound tourism, data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China released in late September shows that the reservation volume for international flights during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays has increased by 22.5% compared to the same period last year. Since this year's holidays are suitable for long-term vacations, many people plan to travel to more distant destinations.
Japanese media noted that the popular overseas travel destinations for Chinese tourists this year are Bangkok in Thailand, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Seoul in South Korea, Sydney in Australia, Dubai in the UAE, London in the UK, Paris in France, and the Maldives are also very popular. However, Japan is not among the top ten cities. Last year, Tokyo ranked third, and Osaka eighth. “This year, tourists seem to have deliberately avoided Japan.”
Japan's Kyodo News also cited a report from Tuniu Travel Network earlier this year, stating that Japan topped the list of overseas destinations for Chinese tourists last year during the National Day holiday. However, this year Japan has dropped completely out of the top ten, being replaced by countries like Indonesia, Turkey, and South Korea. FNN also reported that "Japan is no longer popular among tourists."
Tourism professionals feel the cold even more deeply. Hideo Takeishi of Badiya House told Japanese media: "The number of tourists from China has significantly decreased, and there is no doubt that it is still decreasing. There are no longer any group tourists at all." Naomichi Hashimoto, a hotel director in Osaka's Minami-ku, also said: "In the past, during Chinese National Day, it seemed like every street was filled with Chinese people."
Japanese media video screenshots
