Tourism-related stocks saw a collective uptick in Hong Kong trading. At the time of writing, Tongcheng Travel (00780) rose 5.02% to HK$23.86; Trip.com Group-S (09961) increased 4.08% to HK$600; Huazhu Group-S (01179) gained 4.01% to HK$38.36; and Meituan-W (03690) was up 1.42% at HK$106.9.

According to calculations from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's data center, during the three-day New Year holiday period, domestic trips nationwide reached 142 million, a 5.2% increase compared to the 2024 New Year holiday. Total domestic tourism spending amounted to 84.789 billion yuan, growing 6.3% year-on-year, with per capita consumption rising 1.1%.

Winter-specific offerings were abundant, driving strong popularity for activities such as ice and snow tourism, warm-weather escape trips, and New Year's Eve travel. A report from the National Immigration Administration indicated that the average daily number of inbound and outbound trips during the holiday reached 2.2 million, surging 28.6% year-on-year and approximately 28% higher than the 2019 level. Outbound trips by mainland residents soared 39.1% compared to the previous year.

Citi released a research note stating that domestic travel performance during the 2026 New Year holiday was steady, while cross-border tourist traffic remained robust. However, the bank believes the upcoming Spring Festival is more significant and anticipates a relatively strong performance, as the 2026 Spring Festival holiday spans nine days, one day longer than in 2025.