Domestic tourism in China for the first time exceeded the pre-pandemic level – Kommersant

In the five days since Labor Day celebrated in China on May 1, there have been 274 million trips within China. This is 71% more than in the same period in 2022, and 19% more than in May 1-5, 2019. Such data leads Financial Times, citing the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China. The total revenue from these trips was 148 billion yuan ($21.5 billion), significantly higher than a year earlier and 1% higher than in 2019. Thus, for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, holiday travel revenue exceeded pre-pandemic levels.

These figures reflect the improvement in travel and spending by tourists during the holidays, even compared to weekends, due to the celebration of the Lunar New Year. In January, there were still noticeable outbreaks of COVID-19 in major cities in China, which negatively affected tourism.

At the same time, as noted in the report of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, tourism spending per person falls short of 10% of pre-pandemic levels due to lower ticket prices in places with popular attractions. The volume of outbound tourism has not yet recovered: this is hindered by long visa processing times due to queues, as well as a reduction in the number of international flights. Nomura estimates that the number of international flights during the May holidays was only 38% of the pre-pandemic level.

Alena Miklashevskaya