Local tourism in China is gradually recovering as the country emerges from months of restrictions and lockdowns. Travel spending in the country surged over the extended Labor Day holidays, as thousands of people flock to different tourist destinations across the nation.
Domestic tourism revenue last month, particularly during the Ching Ming Festival, increased dramatically as people who had been stuck at home for months leaped at the chance to take well-deserved vacations. The figures are less than what they were during last year's festivities, but the increase was still taken as a good sign of a possible rebound in overall local travel spending.
The extended five-day holiday season is often used as a barometer for consumer spending in the country. China is banking on the surge in spending to help resuscitate the economy, which had been pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic during the first three months of the year.
Domestic tourism revenues for the first four days of the festival were recorded at an average of 10.81 billion yuan per day. According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the figure, while encouraging, was still a stark contrast to the daily average of 29.2 billion yuan recorded during the same period last year.
The extension of the holidays was the first in over 12 years. China decided to extend the holidays season to five days in an attempt to boost domestic consumption and to get people out of their houses to spend their money. Due to the fact that some quarantine rules and restrictions are being imposed in a number of regions, most of the tourists this year chose to visit places much close to home.
Large cities such as Shenzhen and Nanjing had become popular destinations for some tourists, while much farther locations such as Kunming in Yunnan province had dropped out of favor. Travel service provider Trip.com revealed that local cities were among the top 10 Labor Day destinations. Remote locations on the other hand, which had topped the list a year ago, had dropped.
Most tourists during the season had chosen to simply drive to nearby attractions. According to the Ministry of Transport, there was a dramatic drop in public transport used during the season, with tourists choosing to use their own vehicles instead of traveling via buses, trains, ships, and airplanes.
Analysts at consultancy firm Roland Berger had noted that tourism in China is slowly recovering, albeit currently still at very low levels. The recent labor day holidays were particularly attractive for most who were looking to get out of their houses for a few days.
