Citigroup expects strong domestic tourism demand during the Lunar New Year holiday, which is beneficial for CTG DUTY-FREE, Atour, and HWORLD-S

Citigroup's research report indicates optimism about the structural growth of experiential consumption in China and expects strong leisure travel demand during the Lunar New Year golden week from February 15 to 23. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport estimates that during the 40-day Spring Festival travel period from February 2 to March 13, national passenger traffic will grow by 5.3% year-on-year.

The bank expects that this year's 9-day Lunar New Year holiday will translate into strong leisure travel demand, positively impacting the duty-free sales of China Tourism Group Duty-Free (01880.HK), the hotel room revenue of Atour (ATAT.US) and Huazhu Group (01179.HK); reiterating Atour as one of the preferred stocks in China's consumer sector.

Additionally, the bank anticipates a divergence in the trend of outbound travel from China, with demand for travel to Japan shifting to other Asian regions and domestic travel. The bank holds a positive view on the momentum of domestic travel and expects it to continue during the Lunar New Year holiday period