Experiential Spending Takes Center Stage

Across China, consumer behavior is undergoing a notable shift as spending increasingly gravitates toward travel, entertainment, and culturally immersive activities rather than traditional retail purchases. Businesses across sectors — from hospitality to media and luxury — are accelerating investments to meet this demand, aiming to tap into a younger demographic that prioritizes memorable experiences over material goods.

Consulting insights indicate that Gen Z and millennial consumers are leading this transformation, showing a strong appetite for hands-on cultural engagement such as arts workshops, heritage tours, and live performances. This pivot is unfolding even as broader consumption growth remains uneven, underscoring how experiential categories are becoming a critical growth engine.

Record Travel Momentum Around Lunar New Year

The Lunar New Year travel season remains the clearest barometer of this trend. With the holiday period spanning roughly 40 days, mobility levels are projected to reach historic highs, with billions of trips recorded nationwide.

Demand signals point to robust growth across both transportation and lodging. Travel platforms report that bookings for theme park hotels nearly doubled year over year, while itineraries featuring traditional shows, crafts, and cultural immersion experiences surged around 40%. Affordable high-speed rail networks and competitive hotel pricing have further fueled mobility, making multi-city trips increasingly common.

In major metropolitan hubs such as Beijing, outbound and inbound travel volumes are expected to surpass 100 million journeys during the peak period, illustrating the scale of domestic tourism’s economic impact.

Tourism Hotspots and Hotel Expansion

Leisure-focused destinations are seeing a wave of investment as operators rush to expand capacity. Regions known for natural scenery and heritage attractions — including Xishuangbanna — have emerged as standout beneficiaries.

The area has experienced rapid hotel development, with hundreds of new properties opening in recent years as global hospitality brands and domestic operators compete for market share. Visitor numbers during recent holiday periods exceeded several million, generating billions of yuan in tourism revenue and reinforcing the commercial viability of experience-led travel.

Large hotel groups report stronger occupancy not only in resort locations but also around major transport hubs, reflecting a mix of leisure and transit-driven demand.

Entertainment Firms Bet on Physical Experiences

Media and entertainment companies are increasingly extending their digital franchises into real-world venues. Streaming platform iQiyi recently launched an indoor theme park concept designed around its original content, blending live theater, virtual reality, and interactive attractions.

The move highlights a broader strategy: converting online fan bases into offline engagement and new revenue streams. Competitors including Tencent and Bilibili are expanding large-scale fan conventions and experiential events, many of which sell out within minutes, demonstrating strong appetite for participatory entertainment.

Even established attractions like Universal Studios Beijing are localizing content with domestic intellectual property to maintain momentum beyond seasonal peaks.

Luxury and Retail Reposition Around Experience

The pivot toward experiential consumption is also reshaping luxury retail strategies. Global fashion houses such as Louis Vuitton are focusing on flagship locations that double as lifestyle destinations, integrating cafes, exhibitions, and social-media-friendly architecture to deepen brand engagement.

Shopping centers are increasingly curated around themed installations, pop-up events, and cultural storytelling — signaling a transition from purely transactional retail to experiential environments designed to drive foot traffic and emotional connection.

Growth Opportunity Despite Soft Retail Data

This surge in experiential demand comes against a backdrop of modest traditional retail growth, with year-end sales expanding less than 1% year over year. The divergence suggests that while consumers remain cautious on discretionary goods, they are still willing to spend on travel, entertainment, and personal enrichment.

For businesses, the implication is clear: future growth in China’s consumer economy will likely hinge on the ability to design offerings that deliver emotional value, social sharing potential, and cultural authenticity. Companies that successfully blend digital engagement with offline experiences stand to capture a disproportionate share of spending as the market continues to evolve.