The report shows that -exchange tourism- in Hubei, Chongqing and Hubei is hot during the National Day holiday.

On October 8, the China Mobile Hubei Company released its “2024 National Day Holiday Big Data Report.” According to the findings, there was a significant surge in travel enthusiasm during this year’s National Day holiday, with many residents opting for “exchange tourism”—traveling to nearby provinces. Notably, there was a two-way flow between Hubei and neighboring regions such as Chongqing and Henan.

The report highlighted that the “post-80s” and “post-90s” generations made up more than 50% of the tourists. Fu Xuejiao, a data analyst at Hubei Mobile, noted that data collected from major transportation hubs indicated a rising trend in visitor numbers starting September 27. By October 3, the number of people leaving the province peaked at 806,000, while the influx of tourists from outside Hubei reached 1.245 million the following day.

When it comes to travel destinations, Hubei residents showed a clear preference for neighboring provinces, with Hunan, Henan, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Chongqing leading the list. Among the most popular cities for Hubei tourists were Chongqing, Jiujiang in Jiangxi, Yueyang in Hunan, Nanyang and Xiangyin in Henan, and Changsha. In particular, the vibrant city of Chongqing, famous for landmarks like Hongyadong and the Li Ziba light rail, emerged as the hottest destination for Hubei travelers during the holiday.

Conversely, Hubei itself remains a beloved destination for both domestic and international tourists. Data from Hubei Mobile revealed that during the National Day holiday, a total of 6.83 million tourists from outside the province visited. The majority of these visitors came from Guangdong, Henan, and Zhejiang. The cities contributing the most visitors to Hubei included Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Beijing, Dongguan, Changsha, Xi’an, Hangzhou, and Zhengzhou. Highly sought-after attractions featured Wuhan’s East Lake Scenic Area, the ancient cities of Xiangyang and Jingzhou, the Mulan Ecological and Cultural Tourism Area, the Three Gorges Dam, and the Yellow Crane Tower. East Lake, in particular, has become the top choice for tourists, thanks to its stunning autumn landscapes.

Throughout the holiday, Hubei’s highways were bustling with traffic, and major transportation hubs were packed with travelers. Data from the monitoring platform revealed that the peak travel period on the highways occurred on October 1 at 10 AM, with the Shanghai-Chongqing expressway experiencing the highest foot traffic, reaching 411,000 people—a clear indication of the excitement among residents to travel on the first day of the holiday.

Additionally, shopping and dining activities in the province saw a significant boost. Between October 1 and 6, popular commercial areas like Jianghan Road, Zhongshan Avenue, and the Wuhan-Guangzhou business district were teeming with crowds. Notably, Jianghan Road’s pedestrian street welcomed 336,000 visitors on October 3 alone.