Citi has issued a research report maintaining its "Buy" ratings on Trip.com Group-S (09961, TCOM.US) and Tongcheng Travel (00780), with target prices of US$61 and HK$22 respectively.

According to the report, long-haul and outbound travel data during the National Day Golden Week performed well. Nationwide average daily passenger volume grew 0.6% year-on-year, with aviation, railway, highway, and waterway passenger volumes changing by 0%, +12.7%, -0.3%, and +7.1% year-on-year respectively.

Highway passenger traffic may have been subdued due to oil prices, which in turn drove growth in railway passenger volume.

Data from China's immigration authorities showed that average daily cross-border passenger volume rose 6.7% year-on-year, while the total number of Chinese citizens traveling abroad increased 9.3% year-on-year.

Citi believes that the outbound travel data for Chinese citizens was encouraging, and demand for domestic long-haul travel may also remain solid.

Press releases from online travel agencies (OTAs) indicate that more travelers chose to depart before the National Day holiday this year, and the holiday duration was longer, which will provide support for OTA platforms' performance in the third quarter of 2026.