Chinese domestic tourism gets a Labour Day holiday boost as ‘revenge travellers’ throw off the shackles of coronavirus lockdown
- Domestic tourism revenue almost quadrupled from April’s Ching Ming Festival as people who had been cooped up at home took a much-needed trip
- This year’s Labour Day travellers stayed closer to home amid travel restrictions, shunning traditional favourites like Kunming
Tourism and travel spending in China started to rebound during the extended Labour Day holiday, which ends today, as the country emerged from months of lockdown.
Although far lower than a year ago, domestic tourism revenue almost quadrupled from April’s Ching Ming Festival as people who had been cooped up at home for weeks leapt at the opportunity to get away for a few days.
The five-day holiday period had been anticipated as a barometer of consumer confidence, with the authorities pinning their hopes on the festivities to unleash people’s purchasing power and help reignite an economy in the doldrums.
With quarantine rules and travel restrictions still in place, most of the so-called revenge tourists stuck much closer to home than in previous years. Cities like Shenzhen and Nanjing emerged as popular destinations, while more traditional tourist draws like Kunming in Yunnan province – a long journey for most domestic travellers – dropped out of favour, and foreign trips evaporated altogether.
“Tourism is starting to gradually recover from a very low level,” said Yu Zhanfu, a partner at the consultancy Roland Berger. “The travel mood is stronger than it was during Ching Ming Festival, although it’s a rebound rather than a complete recovery as the pandemic effect has not disappeared yet.”