China’s Mid-Autumn Festival travel, tourism tumbles under zero-Covid, National Day holiday ‘will be even worse’
- Number of domestic tourism trips taken during the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday fell by 16.7 per cent, while revenues fell by 22.8 per cent
- Travel industry has long been under pressure from the coronavirus, with activity during the week-long National Day holiday in the first week of October set to be subdued
A resurgence of coronavirus cases and tightened travel restrictions weighed on China’s travel industry during the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, with the sector set to remain under pressure for the remainder of the year, analysts said.
The number of domestic tourism trips taken during the holiday between Saturday and Monday fell by 16.7 per cent to 73.4 million compared to a year earlier, while revenues fell by 22.8 per cent to 28.68 billion yuan (US$4.1 billion), according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The number of trips and revenue was also down by 27.4 per cent and 39.4 per cent, respectively, compared with the pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
Until the end of October, tourists in China are required to provide a negative coronavirus test within 48 hours of travelling. The tighter rules have been in place since September 10.
We believe travel for family gatherings, tourism and retail sales will be severely hit in coming months
“The [coronavirus rules are] likely to be either extended or reintroduced afterwards, we believe travel for family gatherings, tourism and retail sales will be severely hit in coming months,” Nomura economists led by Lu Ting said on Tuesday.
