Financial Services Association, December 29 (Reporter Hu Haoqiong) “Recovery” is not only the main theme of the civil aviation market this year, but also the main theme of the travel market.

Every holiday, attractions around the world are “crowded”, and fireworks are back. “Zibo Barbecue”, “Guizhou Village Super Tour”, “Citywalk”... Tourist cities in the domestic tourism market are still crowded this year. Many small and medium-sized cities have inspired the popularity of “influencer” attributes, and tourists are also beginning to pursue new ways to travel.

The market is improving. Travel service companies such as Zhongxin Travel (002707.SZ), China Youth Travel (600138.SH), and Lingnan Holdings (000524.SZ), as well as tourist attraction companies such as Huangshan Tourism (600054.SH), Changbaishan (603099.SH), and Qujiang Cultural Tourism (), all turned losses into profits in the first three quarters. 600706.SH Some industry insiders said that the current recovery in domestic travel is better than outbound travel, and with the gradual resumption of international flights, outbound travel is also expected to be further repaired.

Golden Week is actually “hot”, and the market is on the fast track of recovery

On New Year's Day and Spring Festival this year, although the attractions were crowded, practitioners were still afraid to judge the situation during the next peak season. With the optimization of entry and exit, and the resumption of outbound and group tours, the tourism market has truly entered the fast track of recovery.

In terms of outbound travel, China has resumed outbound group travel and “flight+hotel” business in three countries and regions this year, with a total of 138 countries and regions. At the same time, there are also many places that have implemented visa-free policies for our country to promote an increase in the number of orders for travel products in related destinations.

Li Ruizhong, director of Shanghai Airlines Travel Group, said at a discussion and exchange meeting held a few days ago that under the favorable policy of mutual visa exemption between China and Malaysia, there has recently been a marked increase in inquiries and orders for products such as Sabah and Semporna in Malaysia.

Judging from the situation of Zhongxin Travel, this year's groups, such as the first tour to Thailand, the first group to Russia, the first Spanish Portuguese tour, the first tour with a train tour to Laos, and the cultural tour of Iran led by experts, were full. The Dubai launch tour was all sold out within two days of launch, making it the fastest time to sign up for an intercontinental tourist destination in 2023.

Although the outbound travel market is bustling, overall, domestic tourism is recovering faster than outbound travel, mainly due to restrictions on international flights, scarce overseas connection resources, and rising costs.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival National Day Golden Week this year, the domestic travel situation surpassed that before the epidemic. According to Ctrip data, domestic travel orders for the Mid-Autumn Festival National Day increased by 10% compared to this year's “hottest May Day”.

Data from Where to Go also shows that the number of hotel reservations in popular domestic cities increased 1.1 times this year compared to 2019, and travelers of all ages were unleashed their enthusiasm for travel, driving consumption growth in various cities.

It is worth mentioning that the reservation cycle for travel products this year has also been greatly advanced. Looking at winter travel products, during the summer season in August, pre-sale of the Changbai Mountain Snow Season products for spring and autumn tours began. The revenue from the pre-sale exceeded 5 million yuan in just 8 hours, and the multi-flight products sold out immediately. As soon as winter began, snow and ice tours became even more popular. As of November 21, the number of reservations for spring and autumn tours this year during the snow season surpassed that of the same period in 2019.

In terms of Zhongxin Travel, a reporter from the Financial Services Association learned that it has launched the “Light Chaser” themed series of ice and snow products. Since October 2023, this series of products has rapidly become popular in the Nordic travel market with the trend of being full. As of the fourth quarter of this year, popular products in the Light Chaser series have been almost sold out, and Antarctic products starting next year during the Spring Festival have also been sold out.

2024 New Year's Day is approaching, and domestic travel will continue to be popular

The New Year's Day holiday is coming soon, and this is also the first peak tourist season in 2024. Judging from the current reservation status of hotels and travel products, domestic travel will continue to be popular in 2023.

According to data from Where to Go, the number of early ticket reservations for Shanghai Disneyland, Universal Beijing Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland, Changlong Theme Park, and Harbin Ice and Snow World increased 1.1 times on this platform. Among them, with the opening of the new park “Zootopia,” Shanghai Disneyland recently saw a significant increase in ticket reservations. Up to now, some surrounding hotel rooms have been sold out during New Year's Day.

Furthermore, on the Where to Go platform, Shanghai, Nanjing, Sanya, Guangzhou, and Beijing have a high number of hotel reservations for New Year's Eve (December 31 to January 1). In particular, panoramic rooms in luxury (five-star) and high-end hotels are the most popular.

In terms of travel products, according to the Spring and Autumn Travel section, up to now, the number of people booking domestic travel products for Spring and Autumn New Year's Day this year has exceeded the same period for New Year's Day in 2019.

The New Year's Day holiday is also during the snow and ice season. Driven by snow and ice tourism, North China homestay reservations for New Year's Day have exploded. According to Tujia data, the number of New Year's Day homestay reservations in Bingcheng Harbin increased 27 times compared to 2023. Among them, Shenyang increased 20 times, Yanbian increased 8 times, and Changchun and Mudanjiang had the highest growth rates.

A CFA reporter learned that Spring Airlines (601021.SH) has been operating three direct flights between Shanghai and Changbaishan every day since December 1. Up to now, the number of people who booked the Spring and Autumn Tour for the Changbai Mountain Ice and Snow Tour during New Year's Day this year exceeded 200% of the same period on New Year's Day in 2019.

In terms of outbound travel, judging from the ticketing information provided by the airline, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea are popular destinations on New Year's Day.

According to data provided by China Southern Airlines (600029.SH), up to now, more than 70% of New Year's Day flight bookings have been made between Malaysia and Vietnam. Driven by the favorable visa-free policy, Thailand is also a popular choice. Nearly 90 flights operate to Bangkok, and the round-trip reservation rate has exceeded 80%; China Southern Airlines will also operate nearly 80 flights on the Australia-New Zealand route, with a reservation rate of over 80%. Among them, Sydney accounts for the largest share, and plans to fly 41 flights.

However, the overall “healing” of outbound travel will take time. According to flight manager data, the average number of flights per day on international/regional routes in 2023 was 1,077, a decrease of 59.1% compared with 2019. Therefore, the resumption of international flights is still limiting the outbound travel market to a certain extent.

“Judging from the plans of various airlines for this year's new season, the accelerated resumption of international flights is already on the agenda. It is expected that with the resumption of international flights in 2024, the number of travelers will also increase further.” The aforementioned industry insider said.