China’s Covid-hit travel market shows signs of recovery as Mid-Autumn Festival bookings surge

Interprovincial tour bookings for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival holiday have surged over the past two weeks, according to Trip.com

But most travellers will be shunning long-distance trips for holidays closer to home, as the threat of Covid-related cancellations still lingers

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China’s travel market is showing signs of recovery ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 7:15am, 9 Sep 2021Updated: 8:54am, 10 Sep 2021

Chinese are showing renewed enthusiasm to travel over the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, with tour bookings surging as restrictions on interprovincial movement begin to be lifted following containment of recent coronavirus outbreaks, data from Trip.com shows.

The rise in bookings is expected to reinvigorate China’s domestic travel market, which was disrupted again over summer by new Delta variant clusters that resulted in lockdowns and transport restrictions across the country.

However, analysts and tour operators say most travellers will be eschewing long distance trips for holidays closer to home, as many are still hesitant following Covid-related cancellations in recent months.

Between August 23 and September 6, interprovincial tour bookings made on Trip.com Group’s Ctrip platform increased by 365 per cent, while more niche private group tours grew by 550 per cent. The booking period coincided with a significant downturn in new coronavirus cases in China, which have fallen from triple digits in July and early August to double digits at the beginning of this month.

Beijing, which is home to a new Universal Studios, is the most popular destination for the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, which runs for three days from September 19.