Mafengwo 2024 Spring Festival Tourism Data Report

On 18 February 2024, travel website Mafengwo published a report on domestic and outbound Chinese New Year travel for the 10-17 February period. Based on data from user profiles, searches, and UGC, the report aims to identify current travel trends for China’s FITs.

Users born in the ‘00s, ‘90s, and ‘80s altogether made up 93% of Mafengwo’s Chinese New Year travelers. The 1980s generation was the largest cohort, at 43%, followed closely by the 1990s generation, while the 00s generation was quite far behind. Female travelers made up 60%, outnumbering male travelers in every age group.

35% came from first-tier cities, with a further 32% from “new first-tier” cities. The 10 top source cities for Mafengwo users traveling this Spring Festival were Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Chongqing, Nanjing, and Xi’an.

How did Mafengwo users travel over Chinese New Year? This holiday is very much about spending time with family, and 45% of Mafengwo users traveled with family. 26% traveled with friends, with 18% traveling solo, and 11% as a couple. More than 70% took trips lasting four days or more, with the largest proportion (37%) traveling for 4-7 days.

Southeast and East Asian countries topped the list of outbound travel destinations for Mafengwo users over CNY 2024, with Australia the leading long-haul destination, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Italy, the United States, Russia, and Egypt.

Popular short-haul destinations Singapore, South Korea, and Japan were among the countries with the biggest increases in travel demand from Mafengwo users for Chinese New Year 2024. The growing popularity of the MENA region was also evident, with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, and Morocco all on the list.

The top 20 destination cities for Mafengwo users’ outbound travel over CNY 2024 include four in Malaysia, three each in Japan and Thailand, and two in Vietnam. Further afield, the list also includes Dubai, Sydney, and Abu Dhabi.

Mafengwo also ranked “long-haul” outbound destination cities, including all countries in regions outside of Asia (which, per Mafengwo, includes the Middle East). With four cities on the list, we can see Australia’s popularity as a long-haul travel destination. Italy boasts three cities, as does Russia – though Vladivostok in 10th place is just a 2.5 hour flight from Beijing.

The leading Chinese provinces for domestic tourism for Mafengwo users were: Guangdong, Yunnan, Fujian, Heilongjiang, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hainan, Beijing, and Jilin. The top city destinations were Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, Harbin, Chongqing, Xi’an, Xishuangbanna, Shenzhen, and Nanjing. These destinations are mostly in the east of China, including both north and south. Interestingly, popular island destination Hainan only ranked 8th for provinces, and its capital, Sanya came in 14th among cities.

Top search terms highlight the popularity of snow and ice tourism this year, as well as strong interest in cultural activities.