Travel and dining sectors surge during trading hours, institutions: Qingming holiday travel expectations are positive

How does the Qingming holiday travel boom drive hotel stocks higher?

On April 1st, the hotel and catering sector (Shenwan secondary) continued to rise, with intraday gains exceeding 5%, Jinjiang Hotels and BTG Hotels up over 6%, and *ST Yunwang, Juntin Hotels, Jinling Hotel, and others following the upward trend.

In addition, the tourism and scenic spot sectors bottomed out and turned red during the day, with Jiuhua Tourism rising over 6%, and Lingnan Holdings, Three Gorges Tourism, Dalian Sun Asia, Shaanxi Tourism, and others also gaining.

On the news front, a reporter from China Daily learned on April 1st from the National Immigration Administration that, according to forecasts, during the upcoming Qingming holiday, the average daily entry and exit personnel at national ports will surpass 2.3 million, an 11.1% increase compared to the same period last year. Large international airports such as Shanghai Pudong, Guangzhou Baiyun, Beijing Capital, Chengdu Tianfu, and Shenzhen Bao’an saw slight increases in passenger flow, with expected daily entry and exit numbers of 95k, 53k, 49k, 21k, and 19k respectively. Passenger flow at land border ports near Hong Kong and Macau increased significantly, with returning hometowns for ancestor worship, inbound tourism by Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan residents, and overseas compatriots expected to rise notably. Among them, daily entry and exit at Shenzhen Luohu, Futian, Shenzhen Bay, Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High-Speed Rail West Kowloon Station, and Liantang ports are projected to reach 250k, 230k, 190k, 120k, and 110k people respectively. Daily entry and exit at Zhuhai Gongbei, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Qingmao, and Hengqin ports are expected to reach 375k, 152k, 113k, and 113k people.

According to a research report from Maigao Securities, the demand for travel during Qingming is further releasing. With the overlap of spring break, booking patterns for flights before and after Qingming have changed accordingly. Data from Tongcheng Travel shows that from April 1st to 2nd, the tourism market is expected to experience the first wave of travel peaks, with average airfare prices increasing over 30% week-on-week. The 6-day holiday extends travel radius, with significant growth in bookings for domestic long-haul flights over 800 kilometers, and outbound and inbound flight searches increased by over 50% year-on-year. As of March 23rd, nearly 25% of travelers for Qingming trips are families with children, a noticeable increase compared to previous years. The platform’s popular group tour products themed around family learning, museum adventures, and seaside vacations continue to sell well, with over 60% of families choosing 4- to 5-day itineraries. Additionally, outbound travel during Qingming has seen a significant year-on-year increase, with flight prices trending upward. Top outbound destinations include Seoul, Bangkok, Jeju Island, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bali, Macau, Ho Chi Minh City, and Phuket.

Meanwhile, travel bookings during Qingming are also strongly growing compared to the same period last year. Fliggy data shows that by March 26th, domestic hotel bookings increased by about 40% year-on-year, and bookings for scenic spot tickets increased by over 70%. The travel radius has also noticeably extended compared to previous long holidays. Since March, search interest for keywords like “flower viewing” and “spring outing” has surged 3.8 times compared to the previous month, and the transaction volume for sightseeing and leisure products on the platform has increased by 72% year-on-year. Foreign local entertainment services such as overseas sightseeing, helicopter tours, hiking, and specialty handmade experiences have seen a roughly 120% year-on-year increase in booking transactions on Fliggy. Countries and regions within a four-hour flight circle—such as South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia—remain the most popular outbound destinations.

Orient Securities pointed out that, the combination of spring break and Qingming creates a 6-day long holiday, which is expected to boost travel demand. With the promotion of spring and autumn holidays, not only can it promote medium- and long-distance family trips, creating new “education + cultural tourism” integrated scenarios; it also helps smooth out peak and off-peak periods, encourages off-season vacations, and through combined or consecutive days off, re-creates golden weeks and activates spring and autumn consumption potential. Since January, the Shenwan Social Service Index has undergone significant adjustments, and with Qingming and May Day approaching, there may be opportunities for Qingming short holiday gains. Regarding the main themes: 1) listed companies benefiting from provinces that have already started spring break, such as Tainmu Lake, Jinling Hotel, Songcheng Performing Arts, and Emei Mountain A; 2) benefiting national scenic spots and famous mountains and rivers, such as Huangshan Tourism and Guilin Tourism; 3) benefiting nationwide online business models, such as BTG Hotels.