China Consumer: "Golden" Week reality check: Picky wallets, polarized spend

Golden Week looks more like "people moved, but wallets stayed picky" than a broad consumer re-acceleration, consistent with the fact that per-capita spend was not disclosed. Travel volumes were broadly stable, but the mix leaned toward value and outdoor experiences, with more traffic flowing to lower-tier and "hidden-gem" destinations. Cross-border recovery continued, with Hong Kong the clear monetization bright spot, while Macau saw strong footfall but a weaker spending mix. Shopping signals were selective: Hainan duty-free traffic improved, but spend per shopper looked softer, pointing to normalized demand rather than a fresh surge. VAT-invoice data suggest a solid holiday overall: services led, select goods categories (notably mobile/telecom and appliances) were strong, while movies lagged. Domestic passenger trips reached 2.1bn (+0.6% YoY);