EB SECURITIES released a research report stating that during the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, cross-regional population movement across society is expected to reach a new high. Passenger traffic for civil aviation, railways, and water transport all achieved year-on-year growth. Notably, AI technology is gradually being integrated into the entire tourism process—from decision-making and booking to the experience itself—enhancing convenience for consumers and linking different consumption scenarios. Within just two days of the launch of the Qianwen Spring Festival hosting event, AI-assisted bookings for attraction tickets, flights, and hotels increased by 22 times, over 7 times, and over 2 times respectively compared to the previous period. The performance of higher-priced flight and hotel products exceeded expectations. Furthermore, the cross-border travel market achieved robust growth in both outbound and inbound directions, with continuous optimization in destination structures. The main views of EB SECURITIES are as follows:

The tourism market during the Spring Festival holiday maintained its high growth momentum, characterized by increases in both volume and price, alongside structural optimization. Cross-regional population movement is projected to set a new record. Passenger numbers for civil aviation, railways, and water transport all saw year-on-year increases, with water transport performing particularly well, driven by factors such as cruise tourism and the Hainan customs closure policy. The hotel market experienced growth in both volume and price. Based on transaction scale data from the Fliggy platform, hotel room nights booked during the holiday increased by 75% year-on-year. Bookings for high-star hotels averaged nearly three nights per person, indicating a trend towards consumption upgrades. Hotel prices rose significantly in some popular tourist cities. Influenced by segmented travel patterns where people prioritize family reunions first followed by vacations, there was a degree of upward pressure on Spring Festival flight prices compared to the previous year, leading to tight supply and demand on popular routes.

Popularity rose for both traditional and niche domestic travel destinations, with AI technology driving the integration of consumption scenarios. The domestic travel market remained highly active during the 2026 Spring Festival. Orders for domestic travel on the Fliggy platform hit a record high, with the average booking value per person increasing by approximately 10% year-on-year. Tourists sought both classic experiences in traditional destinations and unique activities in lesser-known locations, reflecting a trend towards diversified travel experiences. Regarding traditional scenic spots, core attractions operated by Xiangyuan Culture & Tourism performed strongly, receiving 264,500 visitors in the first four days of the holiday, a 20% year-on-year increase. Revenue for specific sites like Zhangjiajie's Huanglong Cave and Bailong Elevator, Fenghuang Ancient Town in Hunan, Qiyun Mountain in Anhui, and Bifeng Gorge in Sichuan grew by 79%, 43%, 31%, 56%, and 27% respectively. Revenue for Qiyun Mountain reached a historical peak. The Changbai Mountain scenic area welcomed 38,900 visitors in the first four days, a 77.47% year-on-year increase. AI technology is increasingly embedded throughout the travel process, improving convenience and linking different consumption scenarios. Shortly after the launch of the Qianwen event, AI-driven bookings for attraction tickets, flights, and hotels surged dramatically. The performance of higher-value flight and hotel products surpassed expectations.

Benefits from Hainan's customs closure policy were realized. Between February 15th and 19th, duty-free shopping sales in Hainan's offshore islands reached 1.38 billion yuan, with 177,000 shoppers, representing year-on-year increases of 19% and 24.6% respectively. The average spending per customer was 7,797 yuan, a slight decrease of 4.5% year-on-year. From February 15th to 21st, Macau received a total of 1.212 million visitors, averaging 173,000 per day. This represented a 5.4% increase compared to the daily average of 164,000 during the previous year's Spring Festival golden week. Benefiting from the growth in visitor numbers, Macau's gaming industry was expected to perform well during the holiday period.

Both outbound and inbound travel markets flourished, with continuous optimization of destination structures. The cross-border travel market achieved high growth in both directions during the 2026 Spring Festival. Outbound travel was centered on Southeast Asia, with long-haul destinations showing significant growth rates. Inbound travel benefited from visa-free policies and the appeal of Chinese culture, exhibiting characteristics of growth in both volume and price, alongside destination diversification, making it a key highlight of the holiday travel market. For outbound travel, data from TravelSky showed the top five popular destinations were Bangkok, Hong Kong (China), Seoul, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur. Long-haul outbound travel saw notable growth on the Tongcheng platform, with hotel booking popularity for Italian cities like Milan increasing by over 200% year-on-year. Families were the main drivers of long-haul outbound travel during the Spring Festival. Additionally, travel interest to Japan declined, influenced by Sino-Japanese relations. The inbound travel market demonstrated strong tourist spending power, generating significant economic benefits for destinations. On February 17th, Beijing received 15,000 inbound tourists, a 37.1% year-on-year increase, resulting in tourist spending of 160 million yuan, up 51.8% year-on-year. From February 15th to 21st, Shanghai border inspection authorities checked 62,000 inbound foreign travelers, 52% of whom benefited from visa-free policies. Inbound destinations displayed a diversified pattern, with core cities leading and smaller cities emerging. TravelSky data indicated popular inbound destinations included first-tier and provincial capital cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Chengdu. Simultaneously, some lower-tier cities attracted large numbers of inbound tourists through their unique cultural resources. Data from the Qunar platform showed that flight bookings for inbound travel to Datong, Shanxi, between February 15th and 17th increased 7.4 times year-on-year.

Investment recommendations are positive, benefiting from the extended holiday, visa-free policy advantages, subsidy policies, and the rise of emotional consumption. All three major travel market segments performed well during the Spring Festival holiday, with flights and hotels showing increases in both volume and price, indicating the continuation of a high-growth tourism sector. The firm is optimistic about investment opportunities in service-oriented consumption for the full year. Regarding specific stocks, it is suggested to focus on: 1) Hotels: Jinjiang Hotels (600754.SH), BTG Hotels Group (600258.SH); OTAs: Trip.com Group-S (09961), TONGCHENGTRAVEL (00780).

Risks include potential changes in policy and regulation, force majeure events such as natural disasters, intensifying industry competition, geopolitical risks, and the impact of macroeconomic downturn on consumer demand.