Harbin's tourism boom fuels stock market surge

Harbin in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has experienced a recent boom in its tourism sector, boosting listed companies related to the tourism sector.

The popularity of Harbin has had a significant impact in the field of winter tourism. Stocks related to tourism, such as Dalian Sunasia Tourism Holding and Changbai Mountain Tourism Co have surged in recent days. Other tourism-related stocks, including Wuhan Sante Cableway Group Co and Zhang Jia Jie Tourism Group Co, have also followed the upward trend.

Changbai Mountain Tourism Co disclosed in a filing on Thursday that Changbai Mountain scenic area in Northeast China's Jilin Province reported a year-on-year increase of 260.5 percent in the number of tourists in 2023, a 9.4 percent increase compared to the same period in 2019.

In addition to the tourism sector, shares related to the revitalization of Northeast China also remained active in the stock market. Companies such as Heilongjiang Transport Development Co, Longjian Road & Bridge Co, and Zhongxing Shenyang Commercial Building Group Co saw significant gains in Thursday trading. 

Harbin has been trending on various platforms, attracting a large number of tourists for its snow activities and the hospitality of local people.

According to data from the local tourism bureau, during the New Year’s Day holidays, Harbin received a record-breaking 3.04 million tourist visits, generating total tourism revenue of 5.91 billion yuan ($826.48 million). This marks a high point, both in the number of tourists and tourism revenue.

Harbin Taiping International Airport also achieved a new high in 2023, handling a total passenger throughput of 20.80 million, surpassing the previous record of 20.78 million in 2019.

The positive trend extends beyond Harbin to the entire province of Heilongjiang. During the New Year’s Day holidays, the province received a total of 6.61 million tourist visits, a year-on-year increase of 173.7 percent, surpassing the national growth rate by 18.4 percentage points. Tourism revenue in Heilongjiang reached 6.92 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 364.7 percent, surpassing the national growth rate by 164 percentage points.