Stock concept tracking in Hong Kong | Japan to relax visa restrictions for Chinese tourists, ticket search popularity increases by over 3 times, pay attention to investment opportunities in the aviation sector (including concept stocks)

According to a report from Kyodo News, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono revealed during the Ministerial "Japan-China Senior Level People-to-People Exchange Consultation Mechanism" meeting on the 25th that the conditions for issuing tourist visas to Chinese people visiting Japan will be relaxed. Specifically, this includes establishing a 10-year tourist visa and extending the stay period for group travel visas from 15 days to 30 days, in order to promote economic and cultural exchanges between China and Japan. The above-mentioned relaxation measures are expected to be implemented in the spring of 2025 once preparations are complete. According to reporters from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily who have learned from various online travel service platforms (OTAs), the search volume for round-trip flights to Japan during the Spring Festival has sharply increased since the announcement. Data provided by TONGCHENGTRAVEL shows that as of 5:30 pm on the 25th, the search volume for round-trip flights from China to Japan during the Spring Festival holiday period has more than tripled compared to the same period the previous day, and inquiries about related travel products have also significantly increased. Qunar Index shows that on December 25th, the search index for flights to Tokyo and Osaka increased by 20% compared to the previous week, currently ranking as the second and third most popular outbound destinations. Some relatively niche destinations such as Hakodate, Otaru, and Izu have seen hotel search volumes more than double compared to previous periods. According to official data from the Japan National Tourism Organization, the total number of visitors from mainland China to Japan in November 2024 (estimated data) was 546,300, a decrease of 27.3% compared to the same period in 2019 but an increase of 111.5% compared to the same period in 2023. Data from Ctrip shows that the current rate of recovery for international flights between China and Japan is around 75% of the levels from the same period in 2019, but this year's bookings for Chinese tourists traveling to Japan have exceeded pre-epidemic levels. In terms of hotel reservations, hotel bookings in Japan during the Spring Festival holiday season are also among the top, along with popular tourist destinations such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. Cities like Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Kyoto, Kobe, and Fukuoka are particularly popular among tourists. Ctrip's visa experts believe that the relaxation of visa requirements and extended travel times to Japan are expected to further stimulate mainland tourists' visits to Japan. The newly established 10-year visa is expected to provide added convenience for high-income and asset tourists, encouraging them to spend in Japan; the extended stay period for group travel visas will promote travel agencies to offer longer itineraries and visit more cities, giving consumers more options for traveling to Japan and allowing more time to explore less accessible niche tourist destinations. Analysis from the Tongcheng Research Institute believes that Japan is one of the popular destinations for outbound Chinese tourists, and Japan's opening of 10-year tourist visas to Chinese tourists also reflects the Japanese government's commitment to promoting tourism and cultural exchanges between China and Japan. The implementation of policies such as visa exemptions, visas on arrival, and extended visa validity for major destinations will change the consumption patterns of Chinese tourists traveling abroad, making it more convenient for them to visit the same destination multiple times and providing opportunities for exploring new travel styles and niche destinations. Related concept stocks: CHINA SOUTH AIR (01055): CHINA SOUTH AIR announced that in November 2024, the group's passenger capacity input (measured by available seat kilometers) increased by 7.18% year-on-year, with domestic and regional capacities decreasing by 0.81% and 0.73% year-on-year respectively, while international capacity increased by 39.02% year-on-year; passenger traffic turnover (measured by revenue passenger kilometers) increased by 15.17% year-on-year, with domestic, regional, and international turnover increasing by 5.44%, 10.92%, and 55.85% year-on-year respectively; the passenger load factor was 84.81%, an increase of 5.88 percentage points year-on-year, with domestic, regional, and international load factors increasing by 5.03, 8.10, and 9.16 percentage points year-on-year respectively. Air China Limited (00753): Air China Limited announced that in November 2024, the company and its subsidiaries (group) combined passenger turnover (measured by revenue passenger kilometers) increased year-on-year. Passenger capacity input (measured by available seat kilometers) increased by 12.9% year-on-year, with passenger turnover increasing by 22.0% year-on-year. Domestic passenger capacity input increased by 3.2% year-on-year, with turnover increasing by 10.8% year-on-year; international passenger capacity input increased by 43.7% year-on-year, with turnover increasing by 63.2% year-on-year TRAVELSKY TECH (00696): TRAVELSKY TECH released its 2024 interim performance results, with total revenue of 4.042 billion yuan (units as above), an increase of 22.2% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company was 1.367 billion yuan, an increase of 13.9% year-on-year. In the first half of the year, the group's Electronic Travel Distribution (ETD) system (including Flight Control System Services (ICS) and Computer Reservation System Services (CRS)) processed approximately 352 million person-times for domestic and foreign airlines, an increase of roughly 24% year-on-year.