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China travel
EconomyChina Economy

Coronavirus: Chinese tourists trickle back during Dragon Boat Festival, but far short of pre-pandemic levels

  • Domestic travel spending fell by 12.2 per cent year on year between June 3-5, while tourism trips fell 10.7 per cent over the same period
  • The data pointed to a slight improvement from contractions of 30.2 per cent in tourism trips and 42.9 per cent in revenue during the Labour Day holiday

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Tight zero-Covid controls have hammered China’s tourism sector over the past two years.
He Huifeng

Tourist trips and holiday consumption remained sluggish during China’s three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, as disruptions caused by coronavirus controls continued to haunt the economy and consumer confidence.

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The holiday, which finished on Sunday, started two days after the financial hub Shanghai lifted its two-month lockdown, much to the relief of local residents and businesses.

Beijing’s tight zero-Covid controls have hammered consumer confidence in the world’s No 2 economy and helped fuel concerns economic growth might fall short of the government target this year.

Spending on domestic travel fell by 12.2 per cent year on year to 25.82 billion yuan (US$3.8 billion) between June 3-5, reaching only 65.6 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism late on Sunday.

Overall tourism trips fell 10.7 per cent from the previous year and recovered to 86.8 per cent of levels in 2019, the data showed.

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