China Plans Tourism Events and Vouchers for Two Autumn Holidays

China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched a nationwide campaign on 22 September to encourage travel and cultural spending around two autumn holidays. The campaign runs from late September through the end of October, encompassing the Mid-Autumn Festival break from 25 to 27 September and the National Day holiday from 1 to 7 October. Local authorities plan more than 20,000 cultural and tourism events and over 310 million yuan in consumer vouchers and subsidies.

The programme combines scenic trips with cultural performances, family activities, nighttime entertainment and food experiences. Its scale makes this more than a simple holiday calendar announcement: local governments are trying to spread visitor spending across attractions and services. The voucher figure represents planned support, not evidence that every offer has been distributed or that bookings have already risen. Travellers will need to check the terms and availability of any local offer.

The ministry reported 888 million domestic trips and 809 billion yuan in spending during last year’s eight-day combined holiday period. Those figures give context for the importance of the season, but the 2026 holidays have a different arrangement and should not be treated as a like-for-like forecast. The stronger test of the new campaign will be actual visitor flows, spending and how widely benefits reach destinations beyond the best-known attractions.