China’s tourism revenue declined 22.8% on year in Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, about 60% of pre-pandemic level
DATA MACRO
China’s tourism revenue declined 22.8% on year in Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, about 60% of pre-pandemic level
DATA MACRO

China’s tourism revenue declined 22.8% on year in Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, about 60% of pre-pandemic level

 

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China’s tourist trips and tourism revenue over the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday declined from a year as strict COVID-19 rules discouraged people from travelling.

The number of trips made by tourists fell 16.7% from a year earlier to 73.4 million trips during the holiday, which ended on Monday, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, equivalent to 72.6% from the level seen in the same period in 2019 before the Covid outbreaks started.

Tourism earnings slumped 22.8% to 28.68 billion yuan ($4.14 billion), equivalent to 60.6% of 2019-level, the data showed.

Separate data from the Ministry of Transport showed that China recorded 66.957 million passenger trips during the three-day holiday, sliding 37.7% from the same holiday in 2021.

Trips by road were down 37% at 48.18 million and those by boat fell 15% to 1.54 million, showed the data. People took 1.28 million trips within China by air, a level nearly 60% lower than the corresponding holiday last year.

China has been battling to contain the highly transmissible Omicron variant, imposing lockdowns of various degrees to stop its spread this year and stepping up curbs and restrictions when necessary. For instance, in the capital city of Beijing, people returning to work on Tuesday needed to show negative results from tests taken within 48 hours, compared with 72 hours previously.

Authorities in general have also urged people to refrain from non-essential trips in the run-up to a week-long National Day holiday next month and a Communist Party Congress in mid-October.

“We believe travel for family gatherings, tourism and retail sales will be severely hit in coming months including the National Day Golden Week holiday from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7,” said Japanese brokerage and investment bank Nomura. “The worsening tourism data may prompt more cuts of GDP growth forecasts on the Street.”