China’s travel rush over Labour Day holiday sees tourism, spending soar

BEIJING – China’s tourism and consumer activities rose sharply on the first day of the five-day Labour Day holiday, as residents rushed to travel and spend after three years of Covid-19 restrictions finally ended.

Some

19.7 million railway trips

were made across the country on Saturday, the highest on record for a single day, local media The Paper reported, citing data from China Railway Group.

The railway operator expects traffic to jump to a record 120 million passengers for the extended holiday period, up 20 per cent from the same period in 2019, before the pandemic struck.

Shoppers were out in force on Saturday, with major retail and catering companies seeing sales expand 21 per cent from a year ago, according to Ministry of Commerce data cited by state broadcaster CCTV.

Key food chains saw a 37 per cent revenue boost, clothing sales climbed 21 per cent while sales of jewellery, cigarettes and alcohol all rose 17 per cent.

Many residents are making their first trips since the pandemic after the authorities scrapped Covid-19 curbs in December, fuelling a rapid rebound in consumption and domestic tourism.

But the strength and sustainability of the recovery remain in question amid weak household income growth and

youth unemployment

hovering at record highs.

Many young tourists are opting for low-cost, value-for-money experiences, with some unexpected destinations becoming the new hot spots.

In Beijing, where some of the strictest travel curbs were imposed during the pandemic, over 1.4 million trips were made in and out of the city’s railway stations on Saturday. That was a surge of 1,485 per cent from 2022, and 27 per cent from 2019, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport.

Flights coming in and out of Beijing also saw passenger numbers soar 1,594 per cent from 2022, and 14 per cent from 2019. BLOOMBERG