Bank of China International: Travel popularity continues to rise on New Year's Day, Hainan duty-free sales have made a good start

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Bank of China International released a research report saying that during the New Year's Day holiday in '26, enthusiasm for domestic travel continued to rise, the popularity of snow and ice travel increased. Duty-free sales had a good start on the first holiday after customs closure, and the cross-border travel market continued to be hot. The bank maintains an industry rating that is superior to that of the market. The popularity of the domestic travel market is still high during the New Year's Day holiday, and the inbound and outbound travel market is heating up in both directions. There are 9 days off for the Spring Festival this year, and the travel boom is expected to continue to rise. The bank focuses on recommending travel chain and related industrial chain companies with high-quality resources, strong operations, and expectations for epitaxial growth.

Bank of China International's main views are as follows:

The number of travelers and number of passengers per capita achieved a slight increase over 24 years

According to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, there were a total of 3 days during the New Year's Day holiday in '26, with 142 million domestic trips, +5.2% compared to 24 years; the total cost of domestic travel was 84.789 billion yuan, +6.3% compared to 24 years; the unit price for passengers was 597.11 yuan, +1.1% compared to the same period last year. According to data from the Ministry of Transport, during the New Year's Day holiday, the total number of people moving across regions is expected to be 590 million, an average of 198 million people per day, or +19.5% over the same period last year. Among them, railway passenger traffic is expected to be 48.223 million passengers, a daily average of +53.1%; road passenger traffic is expected to reach 540 million, an average daily average of +15.5%; waterway passenger traffic is expected to reach 2.29 million passengers, a daily average of +35.3%; and civil aviation passenger traffic is expected to be 5.881 million, a daily average of +10.5%.

Early snow+ascent led to a high increase in reservations for mountain-type scenic spots

During the New Year's Day holiday, many famous mountains ushered in the first snow of the new year, and “climbing high to enjoy the snow+pray for blessings” became a popular choice for tourists. According to Ctrip data, ticket reservations for mountain attractions increased by more than 150% year-on-year during New Year's Day. Among them, Huangshan tour orders increased 544% year-on-year, Lushan increased 390%, and Mount Emei increased 387%. According to data released by various scenic spots, the Huangshan Scenic Area received more than 75,000 visitors during the holiday period; the Changbai Mountain Scenic Area received 36,600 visitors, an increase of 40.77% over the previous year; and the Mount Emei Scenic Area received 126,200 visitors, an increase of 20.88% over the previous year.

During the first short and long holiday after customs closure, the number of passengers in and out of Hainan Island increased

Duty-free merchant promotions combined policy dividends, and the outlying islands performed well in duty-free sales. During the New Year's Day holiday, Hainan received 2.1716 million visitors, an increase of 25.2% over the same period last year; the total cost of tourism was 3.136 billion yuan, an increase of 28.9%. The increase in foreign tourists visiting Hainan for New Year's Eve was particularly remarkable. According to Haikou Customs statistics, during the New Year's Day holiday, Haikou Customs supervised the sale of 442,000 duty-free items on the outlying islands, an increase of 52.4%; the number of shoppers was 83,500, up 60.6% year on year, and 26.9% year on year; shopping amount was 712 million yuan, up 128.9% year on year, and 48.1% year on year. Among them, duty-free holiday sales in Sanya totaled 480 million yuan, an increase of 111.5% over the previous year.

Cross-border travel: Inbound and outbound travel is heating up in both directions, and the number of visa-free inbound tourists increased year-on-year

According to data from the State Administration of Immigration, a total of 6.615 million Chinese and foreign personnel entered and left the country during the New Year's Day holiday this year, with an average of 2.05 million visitors per day, an increase of 28.6% over the previous year. Among foreigners entering the country, 292,000 people entered the country under the visa-free policy, an increase of 35.8% over the previous year. 1) Outbound travel: The New Year's Day holiday is relatively short, and short-distance destinations are still mainstream; among them, South Korea and Vietnam are growing particularly well. 2) Inbound travel: New Year's Eve travel to China has become a global option, and destinations are gradually expanding to niche cities. According to Ctrip data, the inbound travel market maintained strong growth. Ticket reservations increased 110% year over year, and reservations for inbound experiential amusement products increased more than 30 times. After the customs closure of Hainan, the “duty-free shopping+seaside vacation” model became a highlight for international tourists. Furthermore, some niche cities have become “dark horse” destinations with outstanding growth in inbound tourism.

The main risks faced by ratings

The recovery in travel demand is insufficient, and macroeconomic recovery falls short of expectations