Citi Anticipates Strong Travel Demand Over CNY Holiday to Favor CTG DUTY-FREE, Atour Lifestyle, and HWORLD-S
Citi's Optimism on Chinese Consumption: A Citi research report indicates strong expectations for the growth of Chinese experiential consumption, particularly during the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday.
Leisure Travel Demand: The nine-day CNY holiday from February 15 to 23 is anticipated to drive significant leisure travel demand, benefiting duty-free sales in Hainan and hotel revenues for companies like Atour Lifestyle and HWORLD-S.
Top Picks in Consumer Sector: Citi has identified Atour Lifestyle as a top pick within the China consumer sector, reflecting confidence in its performance amid the recovering tourism landscape.
Market Activity: The report includes details on short selling activities and stock performance, highlighting the dynamics in the market related to these companies.
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Spring Festival Tourism Growth: Domestic tourist volume in Mainland China increased by 19% YoY to 596 million trips, with tourism spending also rising by 19% YoY to RMB803 billion, while outbound tourist volume grew by 24% YoY to 4.8 million trips.
Hotel and Airline Performance: The hotel industry saw mid to high single-digit percentage growth in RevPar, and airline ticket prices exceeded expectations, with domestic routes up 7% YoY and international routes up 15% YoY.
Macau's Gaming Revenue: Macau's average daily gross gaming revenue (GGR) was MOP786 million, a 5% YoY increase, but fell short of the expected MOP850-900 million due to a lower-than-normal VIP win rate.
Investment Outlook: Goldman Sachs highlighted favorable fundamentals for Buy-rated hoteliers and Macau casinos, as well as airlines, indicating potential growth in these sectors.

Citi's Optimism on Chinese Consumption: A Citi research report indicates strong expectations for the growth of Chinese experiential consumption, particularly during the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday.
Leisure Travel Demand: The nine-day CNY holiday from February 15 to 23 is anticipated to drive significant leisure travel demand, benefiting duty-free sales in Hainan and hotel revenues for companies like Atour Lifestyle and HWORLD-S.
Top Picks in Consumer Sector: Citi has identified Atour Lifestyle as a top pick within the China consumer sector, reflecting confidence in its performance amid the recovering tourism landscape.
Market Activity: The report includes details on short selling activities and stock performance, highlighting the dynamics in the market related to these companies.

Tourism Industry Growth: The tourism sector is increasingly aligned with China's goals for enhancing well-being and happiness, with projections indicating domestic tourism consumption will rise from 13% in 2023 to 18% by 2030, contributing significantly to GDP growth.
Revenue Projections: Morgan Stanley forecasts that the tourism industry's revenue will reach RMB12 trillion by 2030, with its GDP contribution increasing from 4.8% in 2024 to 6.7%.
Investment Recommendations: Investors are encouraged to capitalize on the growing tourism demand, with Morgan Stanley highlighting five key stocks, including AIR CHINA and TRIP.COM-S, as potential beneficiaries.
Market Insights: The report also notes the short selling activity and market performance of the recommended stocks, indicating investor sentiment and market dynamics within the tourism sector.

Antitrust Investigation Impact: China's State Administration for Market Regulation is investigating TRIP.COM-S, leading to significant short selling and concerns about its effects on the hotel industry, particularly chain hotels like HWORLD-S and Atour.
Potential Benefits for Hotels: There is speculation that reduced commission rates from online travel agencies (OTAs) could benefit hotels, but CLSA warns that the powerful network effects of OTAs may prevent a significant shift in booking volumes to hotel apps.
Revenue Implications: Hotels might lower room prices due to savings from OTAs, which could result in a decrease in revenue per available room (RevPAR), impacting overall earnings.
Market Outlook: CLSA predicts continued hotel openings in China, including independent hotels, but suggests that the growth trend in average RevPAR may be limited, favoring Atour over HWORLD-S due to differing sensitivities to RevPAR trends.

BrainCo Financing: BrainCo, a Chinese company focused on brain-computer interface technology, has secured RMB2 billion in funding, making it the second-largest financing round globally after Neuralink.
Investors Involved: Notable investors in this financing round include IDG, LENS, HWORLD-S, LY ITECH, and TAL Education.
Stock Performance: Various companies listed, including H World Group and Pop Mart, showed positive stock movements, with H World-S increasing by 3.96% and Pop Mart by 2.04%.
Short Selling Data: Notable short selling activity was reported for Pop Mart and Wancheng Group, with ratios of 26.286% and 21.972%, respectively, indicating significant market speculation against these stocks.







