By Sam Boughedda
Morgan Stanley analyst Alex Poon noted a meaningful improvement in travelers in China during the Dragon Boat holiday.
In a note to clients, Poon said domestic tourists fell 11% YoY (87% of 2019's) from June 3 to 5, better than the Qingming and Labor holidays with many cities, such as Shanghai and Beijing, relaxing lockdown restrictions.
On Sunday it was revealed that Beijing would further relax Covid-19 restrictions by allowing indoor dining. Meanwhile, Shanghai began easing restrictions at the start of June.
The numbers were similar to the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2021, the analyst stated.
"Travel intention according to our AlphaWise survey during May 25-29 suggests rising travel intentions and consumers are becoming less concerned about health risks," wrote Poon.
The analyst pointed to Trip.com (NASDAQ:TCOM) as a stock that "could rebound more strongly QoQ in 3Q22 as the low base in 2Q was hurt by lockdowns in tier-1 cities."
"We lowered cut our 2Q revenue estimates to -56% YoY (consensus -34% YoY), given the declines in both volume and pricing."
Trip.com shares have risen over 5% Monday.