China’s coronavirus curbs and consumer fears mean ‘golden week’ travel unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels this year

Name: Universal Studios in Beijing packed with tourists as theme park starts trial run
Uploaded: 2021-09-30T05:30:18.000Z
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Description: Universal Studios in Beijing packed with tourists as theme park starts trial run

The seven-day ‘golden week’ holiday is traditionally one of its busiest times for travel and is closely watched as a barometer of consumer demand

Chinese travel booking site LY.com says it is only expecting some 650 million trips, about 80 per cent of the number made for the same period in 2019

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The ‘golden week’ holiday is traditionally one of China’s busiest times for travel. Photo: EPA-EFE

Reuters

Published: 1:30pm, 30 Sep 2021

China’s “golden week” holiday this year is unlikely to see domestic travel rebound to pre-Covid levels, industry estimates show, hurt by uncertainty over pandemic curbs and consumer fears about the health of the economy.

The seven-day holiday from October 1 to mark the founding of modern China is traditionally one of its busiest times for travel and is closely watched as a barometer of consumer demand in the world’s second-largest economy.

Chinese travel booking site LY.com said it is expecting some 650 million trips, about 80 per cent of the number made for the same period in 2019 and the lowest level since 2017. That is only a tad higher than the 637 million trips made last year when the holiday was eight days long.

“The impact of Covid-19 is big and is long,” said Zhang Qidi, visiting researcher at the Centre of International Finance Studies at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing.

“Citizens are heavily indebted because of their home and car loans and that has resulted in a decline in disposable income.”

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Universal Studios in Beijing packed with tourists as theme park starts trial run

While China’s economy has rebounded from last year’s coronavirus-led slump, momentum in that recovery has slowed over the past few months – in part due to Covid-19 curbs imposed in several provinces and more recently due to power shortages.

For those who are travelling, cheaper shorter trips are in vogue.