Chinese Tourists Surge Back Into Australia — Golden Week Bookings Jump 19% as Travel Style Changes

Chinese tourists are returning to Australia in larger numbers, and the way they travel is changing.

Australia was among the most popular international destinations during China’s 2026 Golden Week holiday, while International Air Transport Association data cited by the ABC show October flight bookings from China to Australia were 19% higher than in October 2025.

The recovery is important for Australian tourism, but it is not simply a return to the pre-pandemic era of large organised tour groups. Travel agents and booking data point to more independent itineraries, road trips, longer stays and smaller premium groups.

Golden Week gave Australia a noticeable boost

China’s National Day Golden Week ran from 1 to 7 October. In 2026, its proximity to the Mid-Autumn Festival created an unusually long holiday window, allowing some travellers to turn three days of annual leave into a 13-day break.

That made long-haul destinations more attractive.

Trip.com said Mainland Chinese travellers were taking longer and further trips, with Australia emerging as one of the strongest destinations outside Asia.

According to ABC reporting citing IATA data, October 2026 flight bookings from China to Australia were up 19% compared with October 2025.

Source: ABC News — Chinese tourists return during Golden Week.

Trip.com says Australian hotel bookings more than doubled

Trip.com’s own Golden Week data showed overall inbound bookings from Mainland China to Australia recorded double-digit year-on-year growth, while hotel bookings more than doubled.

The platform said Mainland China became Australia’s top international source market during the holiday period.

Longer travel windows were a major driver. Trip.com reported overseas hotel stays of seven nights or more were up 123% year-on-year among Mainland Chinese travellers, while long- and mid-haul flight bookings were up 54%.

Source: Trip.com Newsroom — Golden Week Australia booking data.

Sydney and Melbourne remain important, but Perth is gaining fast

Shanghai–Sydney was the second-most-booked long-haul route among Mainland Chinese travellers during the extended holiday period, according to Trip.com.

Shanghai–Melbourne and Beijing–Sydney also ranked among the top 10 long-haul routes.

But Perth produced one of the most eye-catching results. Trip.com said Shanghai–Perth was the fastest-growing long-haul route among its top 50 by booking volume, up 278% year-on-year.

That suggests the recovery is broadening beyond Australia’s two largest international gateways.

Wildlife and nature are becoming part of the draw

Chinese visitors are not only booking major-city icons.

Trip.com said the Sydney Opera House was its most-booked Australian attraction during Golden Week, with bookings up 171% year-on-year, but wildlife and nature experiences also featured prominently.

ABC reporting described strong Chinese visitor presence in the Whitsundays and on Great Ocean Road tours, while travel agents reported strong demand for smaller, more personalised itineraries.

The big shift is away from mass group tours

Before the pandemic, large guided groups were a highly visible part of Chinese tourism to Australia.

That model has not disappeared, but it is less dominant.

A Melbourne travel agent told the ABC that Chinese travellers are increasingly choosing “quality trips” in smaller groups or driving themselves.

The numbers support the change. More than 300,000 tourists reportedly used the Approved Destination Status group-tour scheme in the 2019 financial year. In the 2026 financial year, the figure was only 70,205.

This matters for the tourism industry because independent travellers spend differently. They are more likely to book accommodation, attractions, restaurants and transport directly rather than purchasing an all-inclusive group package.

China is still below its pre-COVID visitor peak

The rebound is strong, but China has not fully returned to its 2019 visitation peak.

Australia received about 1.04 million visitors from China in 2025, up 17% from the previous year, according to Tourism Australia and Tourism Research Australia data. That was still below the roughly 1.4 million Chinese visitors recorded in 2019.

Tourism Australia says China remains one of Australia’s most important visitor markets, ranking second for arrivals and first for total expenditure in its latest market snapshot.

Chinese travellers spent a record A$12.3 billion on Australian trips in the year ending September 2025, up 29% year-on-year.

Source: Tourism Australia — China market insights.

Australia’s wider international tourism recovery is continuing

Tourism Research Australia recorded 8.4 million international trips to Australia in the year ending June 2026, up 9% from the previous year.

International visitors spent $40.5 billion in Australia during that period, up 16%.

Holiday travel rose particularly strongly, reaching 3.7 million trips, 13% higher than a year earlier.

Source: Tourism Research Australia — International tourism results.

More visitors does not automatically mean the same spending patterns

The tourism recovery should not be interpreted as a return to unlimited discretionary spending.

Reuters reported ahead of Golden Week that Chinese travellers remained relatively cautious about per-trip spending despite strong travel demand, reflecting broader pressure on household finances and the Chinese economy.

That means Australian operators may see higher visitor numbers without every segment experiencing the same growth in average spend.

The opportunity may increasingly be in businesses that serve independent travellers well: flexible accommodation, rental cars, regional touring, wildlife experiences, food, premium small-group activities and multilingual digital booking.

Related NextNews coverage: China’s Golden Week travel boom could benefit Australia — but tourists are spending more carefully.

Why self-drive travel could benefit regional Australia

The shift toward independent road trips is particularly important beyond Sydney and Melbourne.

Visitors who rent cars or book smaller private tours are more likely to travel through destinations such as the Great Ocean Road, Blue Mountains, Queensland coast, Tasmania and Western Australia rather than remaining within tightly scheduled capital-city group itineraries.

That can distribute visitor spending across accommodation, cafés, regional attractions and local transport providers.

It also raises practical needs around multilingual road-safety information, driving rules, regional booking systems and tourism infrastructure.

The bottom line

Chinese tourism to Australia is clearly regaining momentum.

October flight bookings are running well ahead of last year, Golden Week hotel bookings surged and Australia remains one of the most attractive long-haul destinations for Chinese travellers.

But this is not simply a replay of the pre-pandemic market.

The Chinese visitor of 2026 is more likely to travel independently, stay longer, choose smaller premium experiences and build a personalised itinerary.

For Australian tourism businesses, that shift may be just as important as the recovery in headline visitor numbers.

Important disclaimer

This article is provided for general news, tourism-industry commentary and informational purposes only. It does not constitute travel, business, financial, investment or other professional advice and should not be relied upon as advice tailored to your circumstances.

Visitor numbers, bookings, air capacity, travel trends and expenditure can change quickly. Travellers and tourism operators should verify current information with airlines, government agencies, tourism bodies and relevant service providers and obtain independent professional advice where appropriate.

See the NextNews disclaimer for further information.