In terms of per capita travel spending, the average expenditure during the Spring Festival holiday in 2025 is 1,351 yuan, up 1.2% year-on-year, accounting for 91.6% of the same period in 2019.
According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Xinda Securities released a Research Report stating that during the early stage of the Spring Festival travel season, the overall inter-regional movement of people in society has shown steady growth. Air and Railroads passenger volumes have increased against last year's high baseline. During the Spring Festival holiday, both the number of air passengers and flights continued to grow, the recovery of international flight routes showed regional differences, and travel volume doubled during the holiday, with the advance ticket purchase cycle shortened to within 3 days. Domestic travel volume increased by 5.9% year-on-year, and per capita travel spending increased by 1.2% year-on-year, while the average price of economy class air tickets decreased year-on-year during the Spring Festival.
The main points from Cinda Securities are as follows:
In the 22 days before the Spring Festival travel season, air and Railroads passenger volumes increased by 6.0% and 7.0% respectively year-on-year.
In the 22 days before the Spring Festival travel season, the overall inter-regional movement of people reached 5.48 billion trips, an increase of 7.5% year-on-year, and up 21.4% compared to the same period in 2019. Among them, Railroads and air passenger volumes reached 0.28 billion and 49.99 million trips respectively, with increases of 7.0% and 6.0% year-on-year, and increases of 32.3% and 26.6% compared to the same period in 2019. Even with last year's high baseline, passenger volumes still saw certain growth. Previously, the Civil Aviation Administration estimated that by 2025, air passenger volumes during the Spring Festival travel season could exceed 90 million trips (with a cumulative air passenger volume of 83.45 million trips during the 2024 Spring Festival travel season).
During the Spring Festival holiday, the average daily number of air passengers and flights increased by 1.6% and 2.3% year-on-year. During the Spring Festival holiday, the average daily number of air passengers and flights reached 2.286 million trips and 0.016 million flights respectively, with year-on-year increases of 1.6% and 2.3%, and increases of 27.1% and 13.6% compared to the same period in 2019. By route, domestic flights decreased by 0.3% year-on-year while increasing by 20% compared to 2019, and international flights increased by 26.2% year-on-year, recovering to 89.4% of the 2019 levels.
During the holiday, international travel was concentrated in East Asia and Southeast Asia.
During the Spring Festival holiday, the number of international flights in civil aviation recovered to 89.4% of the same period in 2019, mainly concentrated in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Flights to Japan, Thailand, and South Korea ranked in the top three, with Japan's flight recovery rate exceeding 2019 levels, reaching 113.8%, while Thailand's recovery rate was lower at 71.9%, and the number of flights to the USA recovered to 30.8%.
The number of trips during the festival doubled, with the advance ticket purchase period shortened to within 3 days.
Travel during the Spring Festival holiday increased, with Ctrip showing that more than 20% of return orders occurred in the 5 days after the holiday. Winter sports trips to northern cities (Harbin, Changchun, Peking, Shenyang, etc., primarily originating from Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, etc.), trips to southern areas for warmth (Xiamen, Shantou, Kunming, Dali, etc.), and intangible cultural heritage themed tours (Kaifeng in Henan, Huangshan in Anhui, Xi'an in Shaanxi, etc.) are the three most popular choices. Among them, travel orders in Shantou, Putian, Kaifeng, and Huangshan during the Spring Festival increased by 20% to 40% compared to last year.
Qunar shows that travel volume during the festival doubled compared to last year, with travel destinations becoming more dispersed and flexible, resulting in lower flight prices to traditional hot spots like Sanya and Xishuangbanna compared to previous years; over 70% of tickets for travel during the festival were purchased within 3 days.
The number of domestic travelers increased by 5.9% year-on-year, while per capita travel spending increased by 1.2% year-on-year.
During the eight-day Spring Festival holiday, the number of domestic trips reached 0.501 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.9%, with average daily travelers recovering to 125.8% of the same period in 2019. The total expenditure for domestic travel was 677.002 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.0%, with average daily spending on travels recovering to 115.2% of the same period in 2019. Per capita travel expenditure showed that during the 2025 Spring Festival holiday, the average spending was 1351 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.2%, compared to 91.6% of the same period in 2019.
The average ticket price for economy class during the Spring Festival decreased by 16.6% year-on-year.
During the Spring Festival of 2025, data from flight managers showed that the average ticket price for civil aviation economy class was 959 yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 16.6%, and a slight increase of 2.8% compared to the Spring Festival of 2019. The drop in ticket prices was partly due to the decrease in fuel surcharges (during the Spring Festival of 2025, the fuel surcharge for flights under 800 kilometers was 10 yuan, and above was 20 yuan; in the same period of 2024, it was 40 and 70 yuan respectively).
Risk factors: Weak consumer demand; Travel demand growth is below expectations; Recovery of international routes is below expectations; Risk of significant oil price increases; Risk of substantial depreciation of the renminbi.
