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Consumer spending during China's Lunar New Year surpassed the pre-pandemic level as travel increased. Total domestic travel for the eight-day holiday from February 10 to 17 increased 34.3% year-on-year to 474 million, while tourism revenue grew 47.3% to 632.6 million yuan ( 89 million dollars). Average spending per trip this year It reached 1,335 yuan compared to 1,238 yuan in 2019, according to a Reuters calculation. Notably, 18 million air trips were made in China during the holiday period, while 99.5 million rail trips were made, both a dramatic increase from pre-COVID levels. Air China Limited (OTCPK: AIRY), South China Airlines (OTCPK:CHKIF) and China Eastern Airlines (OTCPK:CHEAF) are the three largest airlines in China.
Macau's casinos were clear beneficiaries of the holiday travel boom. On February 12, Macau welcomed 217,448 tourists, marking the highest number of daily visitor arrivals since the pandemic and the second highest number of daily visitors in history behind the 226,326 visitors seen on February 7, 2019, just before before the pandemic broke out. The list of casino-related stocks that could see an increase in first-quarter earnings includes Wynn Macau (OTCPK:WYNMF) (OTCPK:WYNMY), Wynn Resorts (WYNN), Sands China (OTCPK:SCHYY) (OTCPK:SCHYF) , Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM China (OTCPK:MCHVF), (OTCPK:MCHVY), MGM Resorts (MGM), Galaxy Entertainment (OTCPK:GXYEF), SJM Holdings (OTCPK:SJMHF), (OTCPK:SJMHY), Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO), Studio City International (MSC).
In the retail sector, companies such as Alibaba (BABA), Baozun (BZUN), Shein, Dada Nexus (DADA), JD.com (JD), Temu, PDD Holdings (PDD) and Shein may have benefited from the increase in Christmas spending. Another highlight during the holiday period was movie attendance, as China's box office revenue exceeded 8 billion yuan over the eight days, according to the China Film Administration. That figure bodes well for IMAX (IMAX) (OTCPK:IMXCF)'s business in China.
Other US-traded China-based stocks of interest include Yum China (YUMC), Luckin Coffee (OTCPK:LKNCY), Tuniu (TOUR), H World Group (HTHT), Jowell Global (JWEL) and Trip .com (TRIP). ).
Looking ahead, Chinese authorities, under the banner of the Ministry of Commerce, have labeled 2024 the “Year of Consumption Promotion,” even as some analysts continue to express doubt that consumer spending will remain strong. Nomura recently warned that China's economy could worsen in the spring because Beijing has failed to revive the real estate sector.
