Market Trends and Standout Cities

• Despite a general economic slowdown, several Chinese cities saw positive hotel industry performance during the Spring Festival, with Shenzhen, Zhengzhou and Wuxi standing out.
• Japan emerged as the top performer in the overseas market, while snow and ice tourism and intangible cultural heritage tourism surfaced as new growth areas.

During the Chinese Spring Festival, a peak period for tourism, the hotel industry in Mainland China faced a series of challenges due to an economic slowdown. The market experienced a slight decrease in average daily rates (ADR) and a more significant drop in occupancy, leading to a 12% decline in revenue per available room (RevPAR) compared to 2024. However, mid-range, economy, and luxury hotels displayed resilience, with the latter maintaining steadier occupancy rates.

Despite a generally stagnant first half of the holiday, the latter half saw a surge in demand, with occupancy and room rates surpassing the previous year’s figures. Notably, only 25% of secondary markets exceeded their prior occupancy levels, and a mere 28 surpassed last year’s RevPAR.

Several cities, including Shenzhen, Zhengzhou, and Wuxi, emerged as strong performers, showing year-on-year growth in both occupancy and ADR. Shenzhen, in particular, benefited from a range of cultural and tourism activities, attracting many visitors and boosting the overall performance of the hotel market.

Snow and ice tourism markets, particularly Harbin, were popular during the festival, while Fuzhou and Quanzhou saw increased RevPAR due to the festival’s recognition by UNESCO as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage.”

Among popular overseas destinations, Japan experienced significant growth, driven by a rise in ADR.