China braces for May holiday surge as Covid-19 threat recedes

Travel demand is expected to explode as health officials give their blessing to enjoy the break without fear of the pandemic

Huge numbers are expected to be on the move as many families reunite for the first time since the new coronavirus emerged

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Sanya, in the southern Chinese province of Hainan, is expected to be crowded with big spending holidaymakers during the May holiday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:00pm, 25 Apr 2021Updated: 11:39am, 26 Apr 2021

Beijing lawyer Stella Wan left on Thursday for the resort city of Sanya in the southern island province of Hainan to beat the crowds expected to flock to “China’s Hawaii” for the five-day public holiday which starts on May 1.

“I applied for several days’ annual leave before the holiday, so that I can set off early and avoid the peak period,” the 34-year-old said.

“So many people talk about their holiday plans passionately these days. I guess we’ll see a huge number of people on the move.”

Travel demand, depressed since the end of 2019 because of the pandemic, is expected to rebound – and possibly explode – in the first major public holiday since Covid-19 cases stabilised in China. Long-distance travel was discouraged by the authorities for February’s Spring Festival, traditionally a time of family reunions, because of outbreaks in the north of the country.

Wan’s parents, who live in Shenyang, in the northeastern province of Liaoning, were under lockdown at the start of the year because of the coronavirus resurgence. “I’m longing for a holiday at the beach with my parents,” she said. It’s really good to be with my family. We haven’t been with each other for 18 months.”

A total of 250 million trips are expected to be made across China between April 30 and May 5, according to online travel booking platform TravelGo. That would surpass the 195 million trips taken during the 2019 holiday – before Covid-19 broke out – and a surge on last year’s 115 million.

As of Friday, more than 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines had been administered, according to official data. Apart from Ruili in Yunnan province on the China-Myanmar border – where a recent outbreak saw 93 infections reported as of Friday – health authorities have declared the rest of China “low risk” with no travel restrictions.

At a press conference earlier this month, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist with the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, declared it would be safe to “go outside and enjoy the spring” during the May Day holiday, while cautioning against mass gatherings.