May Day Golden Week! Not just the tourism sector—there are three hidden investment tracks

The lingering warmth of the Qingming short holiday has not yet faded, and the consumption boom of the May Day Golden Week is already upon us

The mainland’s May Day holiday 'take 4 days off for 11' trend goes viral, making many office workers exclaim: Plan it!

Starting this Saturday, the number of expected travelers will begin to riseOn the Tongcheng Travel platform, the search热度 for 'May Day' travel products has increased by 364% month-over-month so far; Popular destinations, especially for long-distance travel, have simply skyrocketed. In Xinjiang, Sichuan, and Yunnan, booking热度 has surged more than 150% compared to the same period last year

The '2026 May Day Holiday Travel Trends Report' released by Fliggy shows thatDemand for in-depth experiential tourism is being released intensively, with searches for keywords like stream tracing, fruit picking, and mountain climbing increasing over 130% year-over-yearTourists are more willing to pay for emotional value, and 'lie-flat travel' has become a new trend.。The driving effect of event IPs on tourism consumption is significant.The 2026 Jiangsu Province urban football league kicks off early, with the schedule covering the May Day holiday, making 'Traveling Jiangsu with the Su Super League' one of the hot travel trends.

Behind the high enthusiasm on the consumer side, the capital market's sense of smell is even sharper. In the Hong Kong stock market, multiple sectors closely related to the holiday economy have been brewing with hidden movements. This article will delve into four potential 'investment tracks,' uncovering the logic and risk opportunities behind them.

1. Hotels/Tourism/Travel: The continuation and divergence of high prosperity.

The robust recovery momentum of cultural tourism consumption during the Qingming Festival has laid a solid foundation for the May Day holiday. Tongcheng Travel data shows that the search热度 for May Day travel products surged by over 320% during the Qingming period compared to the previous month.

The core of the investment logic lies in: First, supply-side optimization. After three years of adjustments, the tourism industry has seen a clear reduction in supply, with leading companies gaining market share; Second, demand-side upgrades. Consumers are shifting from sightseeing tours to experiential travel, opening up room for higher per-customer spending; Third, policy support. Spring break policies in various regions, combined with the May Day holiday, have created a longer consumption window.

It is worth noting that $HWORLD-S (01179.HK)$ has made significant inroads into the mid-to-high-end hotel market, benefiting from the trend of consumption upgrading.The 2025 financial report shows good recovery in RevPAR, with accelerated expansion into lower-tier markets.The company expects revenue in 2026 to grow by 2%-6% year-over-year (with domestic growth at 5%-9%), and franchise income to increase by 12%-16% year-over-year.Huazhu Hotels has surged 64.38% cumulatively since 2025, with its stock price rising to HKD 44.26 at its peak, just a step away from a new high.

$TONGCHENGTRAVEL (00780.HK)$ As an OTA platform, it benefits directly from the rise in travel demand during the May Day holiday. The company’s local life business expansion is proceeding smoothly, enhancing cross-selling capabilities.

Second, tea beverage stocks: Leaders benefit from delivery competition dividends.

Intense competition in the food delivery industry has brought significant traffic dividends and subsidy support to leading tea beverage companies. $MIXUE GROUP (02097.HK)$ The 2025 financial report shows annual revenue of RMB 33.56 billion, a year-over-year increase of 35.2%, and net profit of RMB 5.927 billion, growing 33.1% year-over-year. Sales in the first quarter of 2026 are projected to reach RMB 19-20 billion, with net profit reaching RMB 3.6-3.8 billion—net profits for just the first quarter already account for 73.9%-78% of the total net profit for 2025.

$GUMING (01364.HK)$ also delivered outstanding performance. In 2025, it achieved revenue of 12.91 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 46.9%; net profit attributable to shareholders was 3.11 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 110.3%. Store efficiency continued to improve, with GMV per store reaching 2.862 million yuan in 2025, up 21.3% year-on-year; average daily cups sold per store increased from 384 to 456, an 18.8% year-on-year growth.

$AUNTEA JENNY (02589.HK)$ Shareholder actions further strengthened industry confidence. On April 19, 2026,The company issued a voluntary announcement stating that all pre-IPO shareholders, including the controlling shareholder, voluntarily extended the lock-up period for their shares.。This rare collective action is seen as a strong endorsement of the company’s fundamentals and development prospects,which directly ignited market sentiment. As of April 23, the stock price of Shanghai Auntie had surged 99.19% over eight trading days, driving up sector sentiment.

Against the backdrop of consumption stratification, ready-to-drink tea, which combines 'high cost-effectiveness' with 'addictiveness,' has become a high-frequency, essential consumer category.Store foot traffic and per-store revenue data are often considered micro indicators to gauge the recovery of offline consumption.。

III. New Consumption: Value Reassessment Amid Capital Rush

New consumption concept stocks are entering a critical period of value reassessment.Renowned investor Duan Yongping recently deployed capital by selling put options. $POP MART (09992.HK)$, he stated on social media: "My Pop Mart insurance company is officially open for business.", if the stock price does not fall below the exercise price, one can earn the premium; if it falls, they can build a position at a lower cost, openly saying 'I haven't felt this excited in a long time.'

Looking at the market trend of Pop Mart, after the company released its 2026 earnings guidance significantly below the consensus expectations of institutions, its stock price suffered a heavy blow. The latest stock price compared to the peak at the end of August last year has already been halved. The company's full-year revenue for 2025 reached 37.12 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 184.7%; adjusted net profit was 13.08 billion yuan, up 284.5% year-on-year. The LABUBU family’s revenue exceeded 10 billion yuan for the first time, with six IPs generating more than 2 billion yuan in revenue and 17 IPs surpassing 100 million yuan in revenue. However, after the financial report was announced, the share price plummeted.Market concerns are mainly focused on: reliance on a single IP (LABUBU accounts for 38.1% of revenue) and the 2026 growth guidance of 'no less than 20%' which shows a significant slowdown from the 184.7% growth in 2025.

$BLOKS (00325.HK)$ This represents a new growth cycle for the IP commercialization platform. In 2025, operating revenue reached 2.913 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 30.0%; net profit attributable to shareholders was 634 million yuan, turning losses into profits.The company is accelerating towards a synergistic growth model that includes multiple IPs, various price bands, and globalization, adding new licensing partnerships with Godzilla, Barbie, Fast & Furious, Ford, and others.Following the earnings report, Brucke saw an 8.65% rise in a single day, with a cumulative gain of 7.4% in April.

Fourth, Film and Media: A rush of new films, the May Day holiday sees the 'most crowded' battle in history.

The May Day holiday movie market is experiencing the 'most crowded' battle in history. As of April 18th, 19 films have been officially scheduled for the May Day period from April 30th to May 4th, a number that sets a new high over the past five years. This figure exceeds last year's same period by more than 50%, covering diverse genres including action, comedy, suspense, and animation.

Among the key films, 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' and 'Cold War 1994' have drawn the most attention. The former is the return of a classic fashion IP after 20 years, featuring the original cast of Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep, premiering earlier in mainland China than in North America, with Maoyan's 'want to watch' count breaking 160,000; the latter, as a prequel to the 'Cold War' series, features an all-star cast including Chow Yun-fat, Aaron Kwok, and Tony Leung, with combined 'want to watch' tallies on two major ticketing platforms surpassing 150,000.

Many investors have a misconception: blockbuster film = stock price increase. The film and television industry has a distinct characteristic:Stock prices often fully reflect expectations before the film's releaseProfessional investors and institutions will base their positions weeks or even months in advance on factors such as the film's cast, subject matter, release schedule, presale data, preview screenings, and word-of-mouth.

Compared to the box office of a single film, more attention should be paid to:

1）The rebound opportunity for theater stocks: During Labor Day, 19 films were released. Regardless of which one prevails, theaters are guaranteed to benefit. High audience turnout will directly increase the concession and advertising revenue of theater companies. $MAOYAN ENT (01896.HK)$ 、 $IMAX CHINA (01970.HK)$

2）Producers of dark horse small-to-medium budget films: In crowded release schedules, if small-to-medium budget films achieve a word-of-mouth逆袭 (reversal), it may significantly boost the earnings elasticity of related companies.

3）Post-holiday sustainability: After the Labor Day holiday, the summer season follows closely. Whether a company has sufficient follow-up project reserves is the key to its long-term investment value.

The May Day holiday, as the most important nationwide consumption window in the first half of the year, will directly influence market assessments of the consumer recovery process. Current data shows positive signals across four main areas: tourism and travel, tea beverage consumption, new consumption trends, and film and entertainment. However, significant internal structural divergence is evident.

When investors seize investment opportunities brought by the holiday effect, they should keep the following points in mind: First, avoid aggressively chasing high prices.Holiday-driven market movements are often short-term; attention should be paid to the alignment between valuation and fundamentals.Second, carefully select structural opportunities. Against the backdrop of overall recovery, differentiation among companies will become more pronounced.Differentiated capabilities such as operational efficiency, product innovation, and channel deployment will be critical.Third, focus on sustainability. After a pulse-like surge during the holidays,whether this can translate into sustained growth momentum will be key to assessing a company’s long-term value.

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