Expansion of inbound tourists opens incremental growth for Chinese culturally distinctive consumer brands

Overview

The report believes that China’s expanding inbound foreign tourist cohort is creating incremental demand for consumer brands with distinctive local cultural characteristics. After the recovery in inbound traffic during 2023–2025, the key change in 2026 is the improvement in tourist mix and consumption relevance: the share of leisure sightseeing tourists is rising, and tourism consumption growth is faster than traffic growth. Policy facilitation, overseas dissemination of Chinese cultural content, and the overseas expansion of local brands that raises awareness jointly support the continuation of this trend.

Core views

The brands most likely to benefit typically combine Chinese cultural recognition, channels in core tourism commercial districts, high-quality personalized service, differentiated products, and immersive store experiences. Anta covers multi-tier demand with its multi-brand matrix and more than 12,500 stores; Li Ning reflects local culture through hard-to-replicate Chinese-style designs; Mao Geping has advantages through oriental aesthetics, professional service, and a direct-operated model; Bosideng continues to upgrade high-end flagship stores and core product series; Laopu attracts overseas consumers with ancient-method gold craftsmanship, high-quality locations, and service; CTG Duty Free captures traffic through its airport, port, and downtown duty-free network. The report also emphasizes that current evidence mainly comes from specific stores and cannot yet be directly extrapolated to the overall company level.

Analysis framework

The research combines national and major gateway city inbound traffic data, changes in visa policies, tourist purpose mix, on-site consumption checks, channel visits, and the proportion of foreign customers at store level, and screens potential beneficiary companies from dimensions including brand cultural attributes, product differentiation, channel location, service capability, store experience, and overseas exposure.

Methodology notes

• Demand analysisTraffic-to-consumption conversion framework

  Break down inbound traffic growth into tourist numbers, tourist mix, consumption-scene penetration, and store sales conversion.

  The report looks not only at inbound arrivals, but also compares tourism consumption growth with traffic growth, and uses the share of leisure tourists and store consumption data to assess the quality of incremental demand.

• Competitive advantage analysisAssessment of brand beneficiary capability

  Assess brands’ ability to capture inbound demand from cultural recognition, channel reach, service quality, product innovation, and shopping experience.

  Brands with Chinese cultural characteristics and layouts in core tourism commercial districts are more likely to convert foreign tourist traffic into actual sales.

• Field researchConsumer checks and channel verification

  Verify through store visits and channel feedback whether macro inbound data has been converted into terminal consumption.

  Store data from core commercial districts such as Nanjing Road and Huaihai Road provides early positive evidence, but the samples have obvious store-specific and holiday characteristics.

Asset mapping & comparison

Structured mapping from thesis to named assets (strengths, weaknesses, peers, risks).

• Anta Sports (2020.HK)

  Core beneficiary in Chinese sportswear and sector top pick

  Strengths

  A multi-brand matrix covers mass-market, mid-end, high-end, and outdoor demand; it has more than 12,500 stores and flagship stores in core tourism areas such as Nanjing Road.

  Weaknesses

  The contribution of foreign tourists to overall company sales remains at an early stage, and existing high-share data is concentrated in specific stores and holidays.

  Comparison

  Compared with single-brand companies, Anta can cover more consumption tiers and preferences through Anta, Fila, Descente, and Kolon.

  Risks

  Inbound traffic conversion falls short of expectations, overseas brand awareness improves slowly, and performance in core commercial districts cannot be replicated in other stores.

• Li Ning (2331.HK)

  Sportswear beneficiary with distinctive Chinese cultural design

  Strengths

  Chinese-style design and local cultural identity are hard to replicate, and positioning is strengthened through the premium Glory Gold Label, China Li Ning series, brand collaborations, and flagship channels.

  Weaknesses

  The report does not provide direct quantitative data on foreign tourists’ contribution to its sales, and the operating results of new flagship channels still need to be validated.

  Comparison

  Compared with domestic peers, Li Ning stands out more in Chinese cultural design language and expression of local pride.

  Risks

  Insufficient acceptance of product premiumization, channel project execution falling short of expectations, and cultural characteristics failing to translate into stable repeat purchases.

• Mao Geping (1318.HK)

  Core beneficiary in Chinese beauty and sector top pick

  Strengths

  Oriental-aesthetic products, personalized makeup and skincare services, a direct-operated model, and an industry-leading offline service team jointly create experiential advantages.

  Weaknesses

  High service density and the training system may lead to relatively high operating costs, and the sales contribution from foreign tourists has not yet been quantified.

  Comparison

  Offline business accounts for about 50%, higher than the below-25% level of local peers; about 7 beauty consultants per counter, also higher than peers’ usual 2–3.

  Risks

  Service capability expansion creates cost pressure, standardizing store experience becomes more difficult, and inbound consumption conversion is lower than expected.

• Bosideng (3998.HK)

  Down apparel beneficiary with brand upgrade and cultural dissemination potential

  Strengths

  A domestic leader in down apparel, enhancing brand momentum through flagship stores, four core series, designer collaborations, and 50th-anniversary marketing.

  Weaknesses

  The category is seasonal, and there is a lack of direct quantitative evidence on foreign tourist demand and sales contribution.

  Comparison

  New customers contributed 66% in FY26, and average selling prices at flagship stores are about twice those of ordinary stores, showing that upgraded store formats have stronger customer acquisition and premiumization capabilities.

  Risks

  Warm winters, seasonal fluctuations, premiumization demand falling short of expectations, and flagship store expansion returns below expectations.

• Laopu Gold (6181.HK)

  Key beneficiary in Chinese traditional-culture gold jewelry

  Strengths

  Products integrate traditional culture and craftsmanship; stores are located in high-end malls and tourist destinations, with differentiated service, product innovation, and celebrity-driven communication effects.

  Weaknesses

  High-end locations and refined service models may limit rapid expansion, and the contribution from foreign customers has not yet been disclosed at the company level.

  Comparison

  All five boutiques in Shanghai are located in high-end commercial or tourism areas such as IFC, Yuyuan Garden, and Xintiandi, giving them strong direct reach to inbound tourists.

  Risks

  Gold price volatility, slowdown in high-end consumption, execution risk in store expansion, and insufficient sustainability of cultural popularity.

• CTG Duty-Free (601888.SS)

  Duty-free retail beneficiary directly capturing inbound traffic at airports, ports, and downtown locations

  Strengths

  It has an extensive airport and port duty-free network and downtown duty-free stores in 13 major cities, with a merchandise mix covering both international premium brands and Chinese trendy brands.

  Weaknesses

  Operating performance is highly sensitive to tourist traffic, the policy environment, and consumption conversion.

  Comparison

  Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou airports together account for more than 50% of nationwide inbound and outbound passenger traffic, and the company has leading channel coverage at relevant transport hubs.

  Risks

  Inbound traffic growth slows, duty-free policy changes, average transaction value declines, and supply and competitive pressure from international brands.

Key data

• Foreign inbound arrivalsUp 20% YoY in 1H26Shows that the scale of foreign inbound tourists to China continues to expand.
• Beijing inbound tourism performanceTourist numbers up 33% YoY, tourism consumption up 40% YoYConsumption growth exceeded traffic growth, indicating improved consumption contribution from inbound tourists.
• Foreign tourists in ShanghaiUp 30% YoY in 1H26Major inbound gateway cities maintained strong growth.
• Shenzhen sightseeing tourist mixUp 26% YoY, accounting for 45% of total tourists from June to mid-July 2026Sightseeing tourist growth exceeded the overall growth rate of 21% and became the largest tourist category.
• Visa-free policy coverageAs of 2025, 29 mutual visa-free countries and 48 unilateral visa-free countriesA significant increase from 16 mutual visa-free countries and zero unilateral visa-free countries in 2019.
• Transit visa-free duration240 hoursImplemented from December 2024, further reducing travel friction compared with the previous 72-hour or 144-hour schemes.
• Foreign customer consumption share at Anta’s Nanjing Road storeOver 50% during the 2026 Labor Day holidayThis is specific-store and holiday data and cannot directly represent the overall company.
• Foreign customer traffic share at Songmont’s Shanghai Huaihai Road flagship storeAbout 50%–60% on normal daysThe share is higher during holidays, reflecting the appeal of culturally distinctive designer brands to foreign tourists.
• Mao Geping offline and service capabilityOffline business accounts for about 50%; more than 3,000 beauty consultants; about 7 per counterPeers’ offline share is below 25%, and beauty consultants per counter are usually 2–3.
• Anta channel networkMore than 12,500 storesMulti-tier store layout enhances reach to inbound tourists.

Impact & implications

Inbound tourism growth provides domestic consumer brands with a new growth source distinct from existing local demand, with potential beneficiary directions shifting from pure traffic exposure to comprehensive competition in cultural content, experiential services, and core locations. Near-term earnings contribution may still be limited, but if the share of leisure tourists, overseas brand awareness, and store conversion rates continue to improve, companies with leading channels and brand assets are expected to gain incremental sales and strengthen pricing power.

Risks

• The sales contribution from foreign tourists to most domestic brands remains limited, and macro traffic growth may not quickly translate into company-level revenue.
• Channel survey data is concentrated in core tourism commercial districts, specific stores, and holidays, and may not be representative of the nationwide or overall company level.
• Some Chinese brands still have relatively low overseas awareness, and cultural interest may not continuously translate into purchases and repeat purchases.
• Changes in visa-free, transit facilitation, tax refund, and local consumption-promotion policies may affect inbound tourism growth.
• Factors such as exchange rates, the macro consumption environment, gold prices, weather, and seasonality may affect the actual degree of benefit across different subsectors.

What to watch

• Foreign inbound arrivals and tourism consumption growth in gateway cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.
• The share of leisure sightseeing tourists, length of stay, average transaction value, and scale of tax-refund transactions.
• The traffic share, sales share, and post-holiday retention of foreign customers in core tourism commercial districts.
• Flagship store expansion and overseas brand awareness for Anta, Li Ning, Mao Geping, Bosideng, and Laopu.
• Traffic, conversion rates, and merchandise mix at CTG Duty Free’s airport, port, and downtown duty-free stores.
• Coverage of visa-free countries, implementation of the 240-hour transit visa-free policy, and supporting policies for inbound consumption.