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China economy
China

China’s Lunar New Year tourism bounces back, with revenue hitting 73 per cent of pre-Covid levels

  • Visitors take more than 308 million trips during Spring Festival, the first major holiday since country dropped strict pandemic measures
  • Pent-up demand leads to ‘notable recovery’ in hard-hit travel, hospitality and entertainment industries, according to Nomura

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The northern port city of Tianjin welcomed 2 million visitors during the Spring Festival holiday. Photo: Xinhua
Luna Sunin Beijing
China saw robust recovery in tourism and tourist spending during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, the first major holiday since it dropped travel restrictions and zero-Covid measures.

Trips taken during the seven-day period starting on January 21 hit 308 million, up 23 per cent compared with last year’s holiday, according to data from the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism. That was 88.6 per cent of the number recorded in 2019, before the pandemic began.

Tourism revenue nationwide rose by 30 per cent compared with last year, reaching 375.8 billion yuan (US$55.4 billion) – 73 per cent of what was seen in 2019.
“Thanks to the rapid transition to herd immunity and the release of pent-up demand, there has been a notable recovery in in-person services consumption during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday,” said a Nomura report published on Saturday.

“The in-person services sector, including tourism, hospitality and entertainment, which was hardest hit by the pandemic over the past three years, is showing the most evident pent-up demand, as many people flocked to scenic spots, watched firework shows and crowded into restaurants and hotels.”

A lantern festival in Jinan, capital of Shandong province, has attracted over 350,000 tourists during the Lunar New Year holiday, according to state media. Photo: Xinhua
A lantern festival in Jinan, capital of Shandong province, has attracted over 350,000 tourists during the Lunar New Year holiday, according to state media. Photo: Xinhua

Beijing welcomed more than 7 million visitors during the holiday week, up 6.2 per cent from the previous year, according to the municipal culture and tourism bureau. The capital city’s total tourism revenue topped 7.46 billion yuan during the period, growing 57.6 per cent from the previous year.

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