Xiamen Successfully Builds a Booming “Holiday Economy”

During the recent holiday, Xiamen captivated visitors with its romantic and artistic urban charm, relaxed lifestyle, trendy and diverse travel experiences, as well as warm and thoughtful service support. The city further expanded its brand influence and differentiated competitive advantages, successfully creating a vibrant “holiday economy.” A total of 15 key monitored areas — including Gulangyu Island, Zhongshan Road, and the Xiamen University district — received 6.73 million visitors, marking a 15.6% year-on-year increase.

Travel patterns have seen a notable upgrade, with in-depth experiential travel replacing quick “check-in” style tourism. Concerts, sporting events, immersive night tours, and other diversified scenarios became major drivers of visitor engagement.

During the May Day holiday, Xiamen planned and launched over 1,000 themed cultural and tourism activities across the city, creating an immersive cultural experience blending modernity and artistic depth. The 2026 Xiamen Citizen Culture Festival kicked off on the evening of April 30, featuring over 10 daily performances, including concerts, local operas, intangible cultural heritage showcases, and artistic flash mobs. State-owned performing arts troupes, the Zheng Xiaoying Opera Art Center, and the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra presented 23 high-quality public benefit performances under the theme “Singing for Workers.”

Zhongshan Road was transformed into a “flowing immersive theater,” featuring digital light shows, human-machine martial arts performances, and roving musical dramas, attracting over one million visitors.

Gulangyu Island hosted the Art Highlands Concert, an exhibition of Picasso’s original works, and a Chinese film music exhibition, reinforcing its status as a hub of high culture. The island saw full visitor capacity for four consecutive days. The Huishiyuan Stone Culture Park, Banshu Folk Culture Park, Haicang Baixingzi, and Jimei IOI Mall simultaneously organized intangible cultural heritage parades, fairs, flash mobs, and Hanfu carnivals, igniting a citywide and year-round enthusiasm for intangible cultural heritage.

“Focusing on becoming a first-stop destination for inbound tourism, Xiamen has launched premium ‘one journey, multiple stops’ inbound tour routes, implemented smart multilingual service systems at scenic spots, and introduced inbound tourism facilitation measures such as instant tax refunds (‘buy now, refund now’), helping overseas visitors enjoy a vibrant Xiamen and experience the colorful diversity of China.”