Chinese mega theme parks hosted over 7.57 million visitors in 2022
80 mega theme parks in China hosted over 7.57 million visitors in 2022 and the opening of 10 new mega theme parks lifted major theme park revenues to 15.35 billion yuan ($2.13 billion), recorded a year-on-year increase of 15.29 percent. Shanghai Disney Resort hosted the most visitors, while Universal Beijing Resort realized the highest revenue.
Disneyland's $60 billion expansion means parks in Hong Kong and Shanghai are only getting bigger
Hong Kong Disneyland opened its first Frozen-themed attraction on Monday, with thousands of eager visitors turning up to experience the new rides, some lining up for hours to get an early start. The opening comes after Disney announced in September a $60 billion expansion of its parks and cruises over about a decade. Now that Chinese tourists are venturing abroad again after the pandemic, the new attraction is meant to be a game changer for a theme park that has run losses for years.
Club Med opens indoor ski resort
Fosun, the Chinese company that bought Club Med in 2015, has opened an indoor ski resort near Shanghai. Taicang Alps Resort is around the 50th indoor snow center in China where, according to the 2022-2023 China Ski Industry White Book, by Benny Wu (Wu Bin), almost 20% of skiers and riders there now practice winter sports indoors rather than out.
China still awaiting inbound travel surge, but flight resumption should help oil the wheels
Although travel flows into China for the third quarter were just 45% of the same period in pre-pandemic 2019, retailers should see more tourism revenue by next year as flights increase, Beijing-based investment bank China International Capital Corporation (CICC) said on Monday.
CICC forecasts an “improvement of economic activities” and a “resumption of international flights” next year, leading to a possible 2024 domestic retail sales growth of 0.2 percentage points and one to two percentage points more in exports.
Cathay Pacific set to increase salaries by 3.8% in 2024
After announcing the distribution of the one-month discretionary bonus last week, Cathay further announced in the memo that it will increase the salaries of all eligible employees in Hong Kong by 3.8 percent. The increase will take effect starting January 1, 2024, and will be shown on January’s salary slip.
Tencent-invested travel firm Tongcheng capitalizes on China's lower-tier cities markets
Hong Kong-listed Tongcheng Travel, a major Chinese online travel company backed by both Tencent and Trip.com Group, reported that its revenue grew more than 60% year-on-year to USD 288 million for the third quarter. Tongcheng capitalized on the opportunities in China's lower-tier cities.
Leisure-focused travel firm more than doubles its Q3 revenue
Leisure-focused online travel site Tuniu said its revenue increased by 128.9% year-over-year to RMB 178.2 million (USD 24.4 million) for the third quarter of 2023. The company said its path to profitability is increasingly clear. Revenues from package tours, Tuniu's major business segment, grew by 262.1% to RMB 150.1 million (USD 20.6 million).
GreenTree Hospitality records 15% rise in Q3 revenue
NYSE-listed Chinese hotel chain GreenTree Hospitality said its revenue for the third quarter increased by 15.3% year over year to RMB 460.9 million (USD 63.2 million). Net income was RMB 117.4 million (USD 16.1 million), compared to a net loss of RMB 62.3 million for the third quarter of 2022. A total of 4,185 hotels with 307,010 hotel rooms were in operation as of September 30, 2023. The average daily room rate was RMB 192 in the third quarter of 2023, an increase of 14.2% from RMB 168 in the third quarter of 2022. The occupancy rate was 81.2% in the third quarter of 2023, up from 71.1% in the third quarter of 2022.
