China Merchants Securities (CMSC) released a report stating that this year's Qingming Festival holiday benefited from many provinces implementing a spring break system (April 1-3), which combined to create an extended holiday period. Domestic tourism figures and revenue continued their modest growth trend. The growth rate for inbound and outbound travel slightly outpaced the overall market and still showed significant growth compared to previous years, with the overall tourism data meeting the firm's expectations. Within the tourism industry chain, it is recommended to focus on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), which are highly correlated with travel volume and are currently at low valuations, hotels driven by leisure demand, and regional scenic spots benefiting from internal optimizations and improved external transportation access. The main views of China Merchants Securities are as follows:
Holiday data for this year's Qingming holiday (April 4 to April 6, totaling 3 days) shows that domestic trips in China reached 135 million, an increase of 6.8%. Total domestic tourism spending was 61.367 billion yuan, up 6.6%. The number of inbound and outbound tourist trips was approximately 3.41 million, with a daily average of 1.705 million, a slight increase of 0.4%. Nationwide cross-regional passenger flow reached 840 million person-times, rising by 6%. Overall, the extended holiday created by the combination of spring break and Qingming festival in many provinces led to continued modest growth in domestic tourism volume and revenue. While the growth rate for cross-border travel was slightly faster than the broader market and showed clear growth compared to past years, the overall tourism data was in line with expectations.
A detailed look reveals that the connection of spring break and Qingming holiday in many provinces created a 6-day extended period, driving a concentrated release of leisure travel demand. The hotel sector continued its trend of growth in both volume and price. Duty-free sales on Hainan Island led the growth. Mountain scenic spots experienced a small peak in visitor traffic catalyzed by the long holiday. Demand for family trips, nearby travel, and study tours gained popularity. Outbound travel growth slowed but maintained a double-digit increase.
Within the tourism industry chain, it is recommended to focus on OTAs, which are strongly tied to travel volume and have bottomed-out valuations, hotels driven by leisure demand, and regional scenic spots with internal optimizations and catalysts from improved transportation infrastructure. Suggested focuses include: Tongcheng Travel, Trip.com Group, Didi Global, Jinjiang Hotels, and BTG Hotels.
Overall, both tourism revenue and volume showed continued modest growth, highlighting the resilience of travel during the Qingming period. During this year's Qingming holiday (April 4-6, three days), domestic trips nationwide reached 135 million, up 6.8%. Total domestic tourism spending was 61.367 billion yuan, an increase of 6.6%. Nationwide, immigration authorities facilitated the entry and exit of 6.779 million passengers, with a daily average of 2.26 million, an increase of 9.1% (slightly below the expected 2.3 million, or +11%). The single-day peak for border crossings occurred on April 6, reaching 2.334 million passengers. Cross-regional passenger flow in China reached 840 million person-times, a 6% increase. Overall, domestic revenue and passenger numbers maintained growth during the Qingming period. Although the growth rate for cross-border travel was lower than the domestic market, it still showed minimal growth compared to previous years, with the overall tourism data being slightly weaker than anticipated.
In terms of transportation, cross-regional passenger flow increased by 5.9% year-on-year. The volume of air passengers decreased by approximately 1.3%, while railway passenger volume increased by about 8.2%. During the 2026 Qingming holiday (April 4-6), total cross-regional passenger flow in society was approximately 840 million person-times, an increase of about 5.9% compared to the same period last year and a rise of about 35.6% compared to the same period in 2019. Specifically, railway passenger volume was 57.679 million (+8.2%); waterway passenger volume was 3.725 million (+9.8%); civil aviation passenger volume was 5.524 million (-1.3%); and road passenger flow was 778 million person-times (+5.8%).
For Hainan duty-free, sales revenue and passenger numbers during the Qingming holiday saw significant growth. During the 2026 Qingming holiday (April 4-6), Haikou Meilan International Airport handled 1,507 flight movements (+3.9%) and transported 215,113 passengers (+7.2%), indicating a significant increase in travel demand and seat occupancy rates even with a largely stable flight schedule. During the 2026 Qingming holiday, Hainan's offshore duty-free sales revenue, number of shoppers, and number of items sold were 279 million yuan, 47,600 persons, and 224,200 items respectively, representing year-on-year increases of 14.8%, 19.6%, and 10.1% compared to the previous year. The attractiveness of Hainan's offshore duty-free policy continues to grow. Haikou city received 323,900 tourist visits, a 4.0% year-on-year increase, generating total tourist spending of 390 million yuan, up 4.9% year-on-year.
Risk warnings include the risk of economic and consumption slowdown and the risk of changes in travel policies.
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