The longest Spring Festival in history sets new record for passenger flow! Service consumption is "full of energy"!

Source: Securities Times Network Author: Yang Qin

This Year’s Year of the Horse Spring Festival holiday lasted 9 days, the longest ever. The total cross-regional population movement before and after the festival, as well as the daily peak, both set new records, making the population flow picture “full of energy.”

Consumer enthusiasm is also rising, especially in service consumption. During the first three days of the holiday, domestic travel consumption increased by 4.5% year-on-year; in terms of movies and entertainment, although it did not replicate last year’s blockbuster success of “Nezha 2,” some Spring Festival films received good reviews.

According to data from the Ministry of Transport, the total volume and daily peak of cross-regional population movement before and after the 2026 Spring Festival have set new records. Under the combined influence of the “longest holiday in history” and warmer weather, the population flow scene is more “lively” than in 2025.

According to statistics from Guolian Minsheng Securities’ macro team, during the 2026 Spring Festival travel rush, the volume of population movement has surpassed that of 2025. Besides the traditional “returning home” peak, there was another smaller peak after the second day of the Lunar New Year. This may be due to some people shifting their return to work earlier and a segmented holiday pattern of returning home first and then going out again.

Data from Tongcheng Travel shows that the “segmented holiday” phenomenon is more popular than in previous years. The number of air travelers during the entire holiday with more than two trips is expected to increase by over 50% year-on-year. Many residents choose to combine “returning home to visit relatives” with “going out for vacations.” This also means that a large number of residents are willing to “pay for” the extended holiday.

This Spring Festival, the booming cultural and tourism market includes not only outbound travel but also inbound tourism.

According to statistics from Guolian Minsheng Securities’ macro team, outbound travel is significantly heating up. During the Spring Festival, flights to Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and international destinations saw a notable increase compared to 2025. Thailand, South Korea, and Europe have become the top three “hot” destinations.

Moreover, more and more foreign tourists are choosing to visit China during the New Year to experience traditional Chinese culture. According to CCTV, online platform data shows that the number of inbound flight tickets in the first five days of the Spring Festival holiday increased by 312% year-on-year. The popularity of inbound tourism has driven various inbound consumption, truly bringing “wealth from all directions.”

In terms of consumption, especially in services, growth is remarkable. During the first four days of the holiday, the daily sales of key retail and catering enterprises nationwide increased by 8.6% compared to the same period in 2025; in the first three days, the foot traffic and revenue of 78 key pedestrian streets (commercial districts) monitored by the Ministry of Commerce increased by 4.5% and 4.8%, respectively, laying a solid foundation for a strong start to the year’s consumption.

Notably, service consumption is “full of vitality.” During the first three days, domestic travel consumption on major platforms increased by 4.5% year-on-year; benefiting from free highway toll policies during the holiday and the rapid expansion of the nationwide charging station network, car rental orders also increased by 26% in the first three days.

In terms of movies and entertainment, as of February 23, the total box office (including pre-sales) for the 2026 Spring Festival films has exceeded 5 billion yuan.

However, the macro research team at Minsheng Securities believes that due to factors such as film quality, this year’s Spring Festival box office and movie-viewing numbers are relatively low compared to previous years, and it did not replicate the blockbuster success of last year’s “Nezha 2.” This gap once again confirms that, as residents’ consumption willingness steadily recovers, the quality of supply and content innovation have become key variables in turning potential demand into actual consumption.

Additionally, the “national subsidy” policy that was optimized and upgraded before the Spring Festival has been fully implemented. From home appliances to mobile phones and smart glasses, many people took advantage of the “national subsidy” discounts to purchase electronic New Year goods. Coupled with the policy support and the relaxation of duty-free shopping, sales at Hainan’s offshore duty-free shops during the first four days of the holiday reached 970 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.8%.

(Edited by: Wen Jing)

Keywords: Population Movement Spring Festival