During this year's National Day holiday, travel enthusiasm continued to heat up, and the combination of tourist flows and dining demand pushed catering consumption to a holiday peak. Data from Haidilao International Holding Ltd showed that on October 1 alone, outlets nationwide served nearly 2 million diners, setting a new high for this year's National Day holiday. Tourist flows also further translated into destination dining consumption, with outlets in Urumqi, Anqing and many other places seeing peak customer traffic.

Long-distance travel fueled destination dining: Urumqi customer traffic rose 231%. This year, only three working days separated the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, and many consumers pieced together a 13-day break by adjusting schedules and taking leave. The more ample time made cross-provincial and cross-regional travel the mainstream. When tourists arrived at their destinations, they also brought dining consumption beyond accommodation and sightseeing to more cities. Urumqi in Xinjiang was a representative case. In recent years, Xinjiang has remained a popular tourism destination, and this year's National Day holiday also attracted a large number of visitors from across the country. Local Haidilao International Holding Ltd outlets received 231% more customer traffic over seven days compared with the same period last year, with out-of-town tourists and local consumers together driving outlet traffic higher.

Tourism enthusiasm also extended to more small cities. In Anqing, Anhui, a city known for cultural features such as Huangmei Opera, many nearby and out-of-town tourists arrived during this year's National Day period. Local Haidilao International Holding Ltd outlets received more than 17,000 visits over seven days, with more than 4,800 tables seated, a relatively high reception volume. On average, more than 2,400 people entered the store to dine each day. "Tourists from surrounding cities and local families gathering for meals all come here," said Manager Liu, the outlet manager. During the holiday, the store saw many out-of-town tourists, and visiting during the day and eating hot pot at night became part of many people's itineraries. On October 4, the day the co-branded set meal launched, the outlet served more than 740 tables; nighttime student traffic also increased noticeably, with customers still dining after midnight. From daytime sightseeing to dinner and late-night snacks, outlet traffic continued from day into deep night. In the face of concentrated customer flows, a Haidilao International Holding Ltd representative also said outlets would adjust services according to consumption characteristics in different time periods: during peak queuing hours, interactive content such as face-changing performances would be added in waiting areas; at night, services would be arranged flexibly according to changes in customer flow, making the pace of sightseeing and dining smoother for tourists.

Average daily table turnover reached 10.21 times, with visitors heading straight to hot pot after shopping in an anime mall. The tourism boom not only boosted destination cities, but also made popular commercial districts gathering places for young people during the holiday. During National Day, the Haidilao International Holding Ltd outlet at Shanghai Jing'an Joy City became the country's "table turnover king," with an average daily table turnover rate of 10.21 times from October 1 to 7 and a single-day peak of more than 11 times. The mall where this outlet is located, Jing'an Joy City, is a gathering place for anime consumption familiar to young people. During the holiday, many out-of-town tourists made special trips to the mall to visit exhibitions and buy merchandise, then eat hot pot with friends, linking sightseeing, shopping and dining into a complete consumption chain. "The mall opens at 10 a.m., and the outlet starts queuing before 11 a.m., with lines continuing until around 8 or 9 p.m.," said Manager Guo, the outlet manager. During the holiday, the store clearly had more out-of-town tourists, and "many customers come straight to eat after shopping in the mall." For many young tourists, hot pot is no longer just a regular meal during a trip, but a natural stop to gather with companions after visiting scenic spots, shopping in malls and seeing exhibitions. Outlets in cities such as Changsha, Nanjing, Zhengzhou and Hangzhou also had average daily table turnover rates close to 10 times during the holiday, showing an increasingly close connection among tourism, shopping and catering consumption.

From family reunions to weddings, hot pot hosted more holiday gatherings. In addition to out-of-town customer flows brought by tourism, the National Day holiday is also a time when family reunions, meetings among friends and various celebrations are concentrated. A dining table also carries increasingly diverse ways of gathering. During this year's National Day period, a bride in Zunyi, Guizhou, who had married far from home, did not arrange traditional wedding cars or a pick-up ceremony. Instead, she used part of the wedding budget to invite relatives, friends and netizens to eat hot pot. Because registrations far exceeded expectations, the event was eventually held in two rounds, with about 600 people participating, adding a lively atmosphere of a group meal to the wedding. In Nanjing, a couple born in the 1995-2000 and 2000-2010 generations turned their wedding into an anime fan gathering. This shift in consumption from everyday meals to large banquets has also extended to more offline gathering scenarios. Since the beginning of this year, Haidilao International Holding Ltd outlets nationwide have hosted more than 560 gatherings with more than 50 people, with the largest single order serving more than 500 people. From long-distance trips to small-city travel, from scenic areas and commercial districts to weddings, family banquets and interest-based communities, holiday catering consumption is reaching deeper into more specific life scenarios. For tourists, a meal is a stop on a journey; for relatives and friends, a dining table is a carrier for meeting, celebrating and sharing time. The concentrated release of tourism and gathering demand has made catering outlets an important space for absorbing holiday customer flows and social needs.