September 28 is the first working day between the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday and the National Day break. While many people are sitting at their desks, a group who chose to "take 3 days off for 13 days" has already set out on their journeys. They planned their itineraries in advance and snapped up tickets at the right moment, hoping to travel off-peak and avoid the crowds, only to find after departure that the early-bird trip was also quite crowded. Ms. Zhang, who chose the "take 3 days off for 13 days" plan and traveled to Georgia, said she arrived by flight at 1 a.m. Beijing time on September 27 and found not only that the flight was fully booked, but also that the glass at the airport exit was covered with pick-up signs, mostly from travel agencies and local chartered drivers, a lively scene far beyond her expectations.

Longer and more flexible holidays have also led tourists to demand more depth and experience from their trips. Shen Yuan, 30, also pieced together a 13-day break. Early on September 28, he arrived at Beijing Daxing Airport, preparing to fly to Yinchuan, and the airport crowd was also beyond his expectations. He also did the math: although he chose to depart off-peak, his overall travel expenses did not decrease. He first went back to his hometown in Hebei to accompany his parents during the Mid-Autumn Festival, departed for Yinchuan on September 28, and returned on October 4. Compared with traveling from October 1 to 7, he saved 1,300 yuan on airfare, equivalent to a 40% discount. With the money saved on airfare, he invested in an in-depth self-driving plan: Xixia Imperial Tombs, Wuhai, Alxa, Tengger Desert, Zhongwei, Shapotou, Yellow River Suji, and Wuzhong, driving 1,100 kilometers in total, with accommodation spanning five small cities. Calculating the entire trip, airfare cost more than 800 yuan, accommodation 4,000 yuan, car rental and fuel an estimated 3,500 yuan, and dining, tickets, and shopping about 3,000 yuan, bringing the total cost above 10,000 yuan. "It's several thousand yuan more expensive than my National Day trip last year, but the travel duration, depth, and experience will be much better."

Relevant data. Image / Qunar Travel. This is not an isolated case. Data from Qunar Travel shows that September 28 is the low point for airfare prices during the dual-holiday period. A large number of people who chose the "take 3 days off for 13 days" plan have already checked into hotels early, and during the three working days from September 28 to 30, hotel bookings on the platform surged by more than 40% year on year. In 2026, the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day are only three days apart, making "take 3 days off for 13 days" the most anticipated travel plan for many office workers in September. Stacking leave for off-peak travel and flexibly extending the travel cycle has also become the biggest variable in this year's dual-holiday cultural tourism market.

It is worth noting that many people choose to stack leave for off-peak travel not just to save money. Just like Shen Yuan, the transportation costs saved by traveling off-peak are invested in higher-quality travel consumption. Data from travel platforms shows that the average prices of airfare and hotels for early departures before the holiday are about 20% cheaper than on October 1, but these users' total spending on airfare plus hotel bookings on the platform is 13% higher than that of other users. Their average cumulative hotel stay reaches more than 5 days, and the number of high-star hotels they book is 40% more than other users; the proportion of those booking hotels in two or more cities is 35% higher, accounting for more than half; the number of travelers staying in 3, 4, and 5 or more cities increased by 38%, 43%, and 53% year on year respectively, showing a trend of "the more cities stayed in, the more significant the growth."

"Three extra days off act like a reservoir, smoothing out the high prices and crowds caused by concentrated travel; on the other hand, it also acts like a lever, using a more cost-effective experience to drive more consumption," analyzed Yang Han, a researcher at the Qunar Big Data Research Institute. Whether it is paid leave, independent university holidays, or autumn breaks implemented in some cities, all are bringing more possibilities for flexible stitching to the formerly rigid "golden week," reducing travel costs while optimizing the travel experience, and are expected to further stimulate more cultural tourism consumption.