China tourism, consumption during Ching Ming Festival hit new low as Omicron sweeps nation
- China’s restrictions to combat the outbreak of Covid-19 outbreak have seriously hit domestic tourism during Ching Ming
- Most people stayed at home, while those who did travel, took only short trips; China’s national tourist spots suffered the worst
Trips taken by Chinese tourists during the three-day Ching Ming Festival holiday were down by more than 26 per cent compared to last year, as the country deals with its worst coronavirus outbreak in more than two years.
Trips during the so-called tomb-sweeping festival, which began on Sunday, were at 68 per cent of the pre-pandemic level in 2019, according to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Tourism revenue also tumbled by 30.9 per cent, reaching 18.78 billion yuan (US$2.95 billion), less than 40 per cent of the value in 2019.
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The preference for short-distance trips was confirmed by tourism agencies, reporting more than 60 per cent of bookings being within the same province.
National tourism destinations have been hardest hit. The airport at Sanya in the south of Hainan island, handled only 7,646 tourists on the first day of the holiday, 7 per cent of the 102,800 daily passengers it saw last year.
The businesses forced to shut down wouldn’t be able to come back to life immediately, and the impact on the economy at large will be long-lasting
The picturesque Yixian county in Anhui province near Huangshan, or the Yellow Mountain, received fewer than 1,000 visitors over the three-day period, both revenue and number of visitors were down more than 98 per cent compared to the previous year.
On Tuesday, the country reported 20,614 cases, with the majority being asymptomatic.
“Because this time, it happened in the wealthiest regions in the country that normally contribute considerable consumption during the holidays, even if Shanghai opened up entirely now, the businesses forced to shut down wouldn’t be able to come back to life immediately, and the impact on the economy at large will be long-lasting,” said Zhou Mingqi, founder of tourism consultancy firm Jingjian Consulting.
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The slump, in both the tourism sector and consumption, is likely to extend over the coming labour holiday and beyond, he added.
Flight prices were at a three-year low due to fewer bookings and shorter trips. The cost of travelling to and from popular destinations such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu have been slashed through April. Some tickets have a more than 90 per cent discount.
Box office revenue, an indicator to measure consumption, recorded only 120 million yuan during the three-day holiday, down 86 per cent from last year’s revenue and reaching a historic 10-year low.
Last year, despite coronavirus disruptions, box office revenues hit a historic high of 822 million yuan during the holiday.
