Trip.com Group-S (09961) rose more than 4% in afternoon trading. As of the time of writing, the stock was up 3.99% to HK$599.5, with a turnover of HK$830 million.

The New Year holiday period at the beginning of 2026, featuring a three-day break combined with the "take three days off for an eight-day holiday" trend, effectively stimulated tourism consumption demand.

Consumption reports from multiple platforms indicated that during the holiday, bookings and prices for core travel products like flights, hotels, and homestays saw simultaneous increases.

Domestic travel exhibited a pattern of "mutual visits between north and south, linkage between urban and rural areas, and diverse scenarios," while the popularity of outbound travel significantly surpassed previous years, and the inbound travel market also warmed up.

Citibank released a research report stating that according to the National Immigration Administration, the average daily number of inbound and outbound trips during the New Year holiday reached 2.2 million, a year-on-year increase of 28.6%, approximately 28% higher than the 2019 level.

Among these, the number of outbound trips by mainland residents surged 39.1% year-on-year.

Citibank believes that domestic travel performance during the 2026 New Year holiday was steady, but cross-border travel figures were robust.

However, the upcoming Spring Festival is considered more important, with expectations for a strong performance as the 2026 holiday spans nine days, one day longer than in 2025.

Citibank maintains a "Buy" rating on both Trip.com Group-S and Tongcheng Travel.