Analysis of Tuniu's Travel Booking Business Growth Under the 2026 Trend of Holiday-Bundling and Peak-Avoidance Travel

According to the ‘New Year’s Day Travel Consumption Review’ during the 2026 New Year’s Day period, over 30% of users chose to take leave in advance for holiday-bundling and peak-avoidance travel, with ‘taking 3 days off to get an 8-day break’ becoming the mainstream rhythm; short trips of 2 days accounted for nearly 50%, and cross-year trips of over 4 days reached 20%; core popular destinations were concentrated in domestic first-tier cities and tourist spots like Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Sanya, Chengdu, and Chongqing, while niche destinations (such as Anji, Qingyuan, Xichang, etc.) emerged due to differentiated experiences; northern and southern ice-snow activities, themed performances, and cross-year ritual feelings became ‘self-pleasing’ options for young people, and the proportion of inter-provincial accommodation and ‘slow travel’ continued to rise [1]. Such combined demand for peak avoidance and cross-year travel brings longer booking cycles and stronger momentum for non-peak departure days to online travel platforms.

1. Product Structure and Supply Chain Alignment with Peak-Avoidance Rhythm
   
   Tuniu positions its core revenue in organized tours and self-drive packaged tours, with package tour revenue growing 12% year-on-year in Q3 2025 (accounting for 89% of revenue), and expanding seasonally flat supply by launching Nordic/long-haul, ice-snow, island, and short cross-year products outside traditional peak seasons; the company uses dynamic combination technology to expand ‘Hotel+X’ and self-drive coverage to all provinces, with self-driven product transactions increasing 5 times during golden festivals, meeting peak-avoidance users’ needs for flexible itineraries and combined features [2].
2. Channel and Experience Enhancement for Differentiated Reach
   
   Tuniu continues to build a hybrid sales system of online live streaming + content operation, offline flagship stores, and community services, with live streaming payment and verification volumes maintaining double-digit growth, and establishing in-depth cooperation with MCNs and high-quality anchors to implement the ‘destination live broadcast + product verification’ model; offline stores expand in transportation hubs and urban centers, forming complementary coverage for middle-aged and elderly users and high-spending users who value personal service, enhancing trust and consultation efficiency for holiday-bundling and peak-avoidance travel [2].
3. Technology and Efficiency Support for Low-Density Travel Scenarios
   
   The company embeds AI, dynamic packaging, and supply chain management tools into the entire product lifecycle, improving the order-splitting efficiency and price-sensitive regulation of non-standard itineraries (such as 2-day trips, cross-year trips), and with continuous R&D investment (R&D expenses increased 15% year-on-year in Q3) and cost control, even peak-avoidance products can maintain reasonable profits and cash flow [2].

1. Seizing the Peak-Avoidance Growth Window
   
   The trend of ‘taking 3 days off to get an 8-day break’ and cross-year ritual feelings means consumers are scattered in pre-holiday and post-holiday departures, but the overall travel period expands; Tuniu can cover almost year-round bookings by preheating in advance, cross-season promotions, and guiding non-peak traffic with ‘low weekday prices’.
2. Enhancing Penetration of High-Frequency Short Trips and Cross-Year Products
   
   Short trips (2 days) account for nearly 50%, and Tuniu has mature short-distance supply chains and urban peripheral self-drive resources, which helps rapid volume growth; at the same time, long cross-year products (over 4 days) can also drive high spending through ‘ritual’ events like concerts in popular destinations, increasing customer unit value and repurchases.
3. Technology and Channel Enhancement of Conversion Rate
   
   The in-depth application of live streaming and dynamic packaging shortens the ‘self-selection + confirmation’ decision-making process for peak-avoidance users, and offline/online channel synergy ensures smoothness from consultation to payment, thus continuing to convert new customers and repurchases in 2026, driving overall booking growth upward. Against the background of scattered seasonal traffic, Tuniu’s operational efficiency and channel expansion provide an incremental foundation for its booking business; if it can maintain high-turnover supply chains and precise marketing, travel bookings are expected to see flexible growth in 2026.

Currently, Tuniu’s market capitalization is only about $270 million, with a depressed valuation (P/B 0.18x), but operations still maintain positive cash flow (free cash flow of $84.46 million) and low leverage; if peak-avoidance and holiday-bundling products continue to be frequently accessed and generate scale effects, the company’s core packaged tour revenue and profit margin are expected to steadily increase in 2026, but need to be vigilant against short-term shocks caused by pandemic recurrence or macro consumption slowdown leading to a decline in travel willingness [0].

[0] Jinling API Data (Company Overview, Real-Time Market, Financial Analysis)
[1] Sina Finance - ‘2026 New Year’s Day Travel Sees Strong Start: Cultural Tourism Consumption Boom Fully Ignited’ (https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/roll/2026-01-03/doc-inhezczu8409955.shtml)
[2] MarketBeat - ‘Tuniu (NASDAQ:TOUR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results’ (https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/tuniu-nasdaqtour-announces-quarterly-earnings-results-2025-12-05/)