How Chinese New Year Travel Impacts the US
By Goldsea Staff | 16 Feb, 2026

China’s annual 2‑week holiday travel season is a big annual blessing for the US hospitality and retail industries.

Every winter, as China heads into its massive Spring Festival travel season—known as Chunyun—the world’s largest annual human migration kicks off. Hundreds of millions of people head home, go on vacation, or take long‑awaited overseas trips.  For the US, this two‑week period isn’t just a cultural moment happening on the other side of the Pacific.  It’s an economic event that reliably boosts American hotels, restaurants, luxury retailers, and tourism‑dependent cities.

Even though Chinese travel to the US hasn’t fully returned to pre‑pandemic levels—and is now reduced two-thirds due to unfriendly policies—the Spring Festival window remains one of the most important periods of the year for inbound Chinese tourism.  And because Chinese visitors tend to stay longer and spend more than the average international traveler, the economic ripple effect is far larger than the raw visitor numbers might suggest.

The Baseline: How many Chinese travelers Visit the US in a Normal Year

Before the pandemic, Chinese tourism to the US was booming.  In 2016, Chinese arrivals exceeded 3 million for the first time, and by 2018 the US welcomed roughly 3 million Chinese visitors, accounting for about 7.5 percent of all overseas travel to the country, according to Quartzmountain (https://quartzmountain.org/article/how-many-chinese-travel-to-us-each-year) and the US Travel Association (https://www.ustravel.org/system/files/media_root/document/Research_Country-Profile_China.pdf)

That 3‑million‑visitor level became the benchmark for what a “normal” year looked like.  Chinese tourists were the largest overseas spenders in the US, and travel was one of America’s biggest service exports to China, generating a $29 billion trade surplus in 2018, according to the US Travel Association (https://www.ustravel.org/system/files/media_root/document/Research_Country-Profile_China.pdf)

Then came the pandemic, followed by slow visa processing, limited direct flights, and geopolitical tensions brought on by hostile policies.  By 2023 Chinese arrivals had climbed back to about 1.1 million—up nearly 193 percent from 2022 but still far below the pre‑COVID peak, according to QuartzMountain (https://quartzmountain.org/article/how-many-chinese-travel-to-us-each-year)

So today’s baseline is roughly one‑third of the old normal. But even at these reduced levels, Chinese tourism remains one of the most valuable inbound markets for the US.

How Many Chinese Travelers Come During Chinese New Year

China’s Spring Festival travel season is the largest annual travel event on Earth.  Domestically, it involves billions of passenger trips. Internationally, it’s the moment when many Chinese families take their longest vacation of the year.

While the US doesn’t publish a precise breakdown of Chinese New Year arrivals, travel industry data and historical patterns show that the two‑week holiday consistently produces one of the biggest spikes in Chinese outbound travel. Before the pandemic, it wasn’t unusual for 10–15 percent of annual Chinese long‑haul leisure travel to occur during this short window.

Applying that range to the pre‑pandemic baseline of 3 million annual US visits suggests that roughly **300,000 to 450,000 Chinese travelers** typically visited the US during the Spring Festival period in strong years.

Using the 2023 recovery figure of 1.1 million Chinese visitors, the Spring Festival surge would translate to roughly **110,000 to 165,000 visitors** during the holiday season—still a major influx for US tourism‑dependent cities.   [QuartzMountain](https://quartzmountain.org/article/how-many-chinese-travel-to-us-each-year)

These travelers tend to stay longer than average, often 10–14 days, because the holiday itself lasts a full week and many travelers extend their trips.

Where Chinese New Year Travelers Go

Chinese tourists don’t spread evenly across the country. Their travel patterns are highly concentrated, which means the economic impact is too.

Top destinations include:

- Los Angeles – A major gateway city with strong flight connectivity and a large Chinese diaspora  

- San Francisco and the Bay Area – Tech tourism, national parks, and cultural familiarity  

- New York City – Shopping, museums, and iconic attractions  

- Las Vegas – Entertainment, gaming, and luxury retail  

- Hawaii – Beaches, resorts, and family‑friendly travel  

During Chinese New Year, these cities often see hotel occupancy jump, retail foot traffic surge, and luxury boutiques experience some of their strongest sales weeks of the year.

How Much Chinese Visitors Spend

Chinese tourists have long been among the highest‑spending international visitors to the US. While spending varies by year and exchange rate, pre‑pandemic averages typically ranged from $6,000 to $7,000 per visitor, including airfare, lodging, dining, shopping, and entertainment.

A significant portion of that spending goes directly to US retailers. Historically, shopping accounted for 25–35 percent of Chinese visitor spending in the US, driven by luxury goods, fashion, cosmetics, and outlet malls.

Even using conservative estimates:

- At $6,000 - $11,500 per visitor,  

- With 25–35% spent on retail,  

- Each Chinese traveler contributes $1,500 to $3,500 to US retailers.

Multiply that by the estimated 110,000 to 165,000 Chinese New Year visitors in a recovery year like 2023—or a Trump year like 2025—and the Spring Festival period alone can generate:

- $660 million to $1.4 billion in total visitor spending, and  

- $165 million to $580 million in retail spending.

In pre‑pandemic, pre-tension years, when Spring Festival arrivals were closer to 300,000–450,000, the numbers were even more dramatic:

- $1.8 billion to $3.15 billion in total spending, and  

- $450 million to $945 million in retail spending.

These are enormous figures for a two‑week period.

Why Chinese New Year Travelers Spend So Much

Several factors explain why Chinese visitors tend to outspend other international travelers:

   1. Longer trips

Chinese New Year is one of the few extended holidays in China, so travelers often take 10–14 days off. Longer stays mean more hotel nights, more meals, and more shopping.

   2. Multi‑city itineraries

Many Chinese tourists visit multiple US cities in one trip—Los Angeles to Las Vegas to San Francisco, or New York to Boston to Washington. Multi‑city travel increases transportation, lodging, and entertainment spending.

   3. Strong interest in shopping

Luxury goods, fashion brands, and outlet malls remain major draws. Even as China’s domestic luxury market has grown, many travelers still prefer buying in the US because of authenticity, selection, and sometimes lower prices.

   4. Family and group travel

Chinese New Year is a family holiday, so many travelers come in groups. Group travel tends to produce higher per‑trip spending.

How US Businesses Prepare for the Spring Festival Surge

Because the Spring Festival period is so predictable, US businesses—especially in major gateway cities—plan for it months in advance.

   Hotels

- Increase Mandarin‑speaking staff  

- Offer Chinese breakfast options  

- Provide holiday‑themed amenities  

- Coordinate with Chinese tour operators  

   Retailers

- Stock popular luxury items  

- Offer Chinese New Year promotions  

- Train staff on Chinese payment platforms (like UnionPay or Alipay)  

- Decorate stores with red and gold holiday themes  

   Tourism Boards

- Run targeted marketing campaigns in China  

- Partner with airlines to promote US routes  

- Highlight Chinese‑friendly attractions and experiences  

Even in years when overall Chinese travel is down, the Spring Festival period remains a reliable bright spot.

The Broader Economic Impact on the US

Chinese tourism is more than a hospitality story—it’s a trade story. Travel is counted as an export in economic terms, because foreign visitors spend money inside the US. In 2018, travel exports to China accounted for nearly 19 percent of all US exports of goods and services to China.   U.S. Travel Association (https://www.ustravel.org/system/files/media_root/document/Research_Country-Profile_China.pdf)

In short the Spring Festival surge matters because:

- It boosts America’s service exports  

- It supports jobs in hotels, restaurants, retail, and transportation  

- It strengthens tourism‑dependent local economies  

- It helps reduce the bilateral trade deficit  

Even with reduced post‑pandemic, Trump-year travel, the US still benefits enormously from every incremental increase in Chinese visitors.

What the Future Looks Like:

The US is actively trying to rebuild Chinese tourism. The government has set a goal of welcoming 90 million international visitors annually, and China remains a key market.   QuartzMountain (https://quartzmountain.org/article/how-many-chinese-travel-to-us-each-year)

Several factors will determine how quickly Chinese New Year travel returns to pre‑pandemic levels:

- Availability of direct flights  

- Visa processing times  

- Geopolitical stability  

- Perceptions of safety  

- China’s economic conditions  

But the long‑term fundamentals remain strong. Chinese travelers value US destinations, and the Spring Festival holiday will always be a prime time for long‑haul travel.

Conclusion

Chinese New Year travel isn’t just a cultural phenomenon—it’s a major economic event for the US.  Even in a recovery/high-tension year like 2023 or 2025, the Spring Festival period likely brought more than 120,000 Chinese visitors to American cities, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in spending and giving hotels and retailers a powerful seasonal boost.

As travel normalizes and flight capacity expands, the US stands to benefit even more. The Spring Festival surge will continue to be one of the most important—and most reliable—moments of the year for America’s tourism and retail industries.