Alibaba’s Amap Breaks Record as Holiday Travel Boosts User Surge

Alibaba’s mapping and navigation app, Amap, achieved a milestone on the first day of China’s extended National Day holiday, surpassing 360 million daily active users, according to the company. The eight-day break — which this year combines the National Day celebration with the Mid-Autumn Festival — has driven a sharp rise in domestic travel demand.

The spike in traffic reflects how Amap is positioning itself beyond basic navigation. The platform is increasingly competing with Meituan by expanding into local lifestyle services. New features now allow users to find and review restaurants, hotels, and tourist sites, placing the app in direct rivalry with Meituan’s Dazhong Dianping service.

In September, Amap introduced “Street Stars,” an AI-powered tool that ranks destinations based on user preferences and algorithmic analysis. To encourage adoption, Alibaba backed the rollout with 1 billion yuan (around $140 million) in coupons that can be redeemed for ride-hailing and in-store spending. This represents one of the company’s largest subsidy pushes in the mobility and lifestyle sector.

The surge in digital activity has been mirrored in physical travel flows. On the same day, China’s national rail network reported more than 23 million passenger trips, setting a new record for single-day ridership and marking an 8% increase compared to the previous year, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Alibaba’s strong holiday momentum also had an impact on financial markets. In Hong Kong trading on Thursday, the company’s stock rose by 4% after JPMorgan revised its price target upward from HK$165 to HK$240 ($30.85), citing improved outlooks for its digital ecosystem.