National tourism revenue for the long weekend ending Monday reached 28.68 billion yuan ($4.16 billion), just 60.6% of pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. . Pictured are visitors to Nantong Intercontinental Green Fair Park in Jiangsu province in September. 11, 2022.
Video | Visual China Group | Getty Pictures
BEIJING – China’s tourism industry has just finished another public holiday, with revenue far below its pre-pandemic revenue.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said late Monday that national tourism revenue for the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival has reached 28.68 billion yuan ($4.16 billion) – just 60.6% of 2019 pre-pandemic levels. The figure also marks a 22.8% decrease compared to last year.
The ministry said tourist trips of 73.4 million were around 17% below last year’s figure, returning to just 72.6% from 2019 levels.
Ting Lu, Nomura’s chief economist in China, said tourism numbers fell more than the last public holiday in early June.
“The worsening business activity was mainly due to tightened Covid control measures, as individuals are advised to stay local and avoid unnecessary travel during the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday (October 1-7),” a report said. It’s dated Monday. China’s next public holiday will be in October.
Chinese tourism has plummeted since the pandemic hit in early 2020. Domestic tourism revenue for the full last year about half of 2019, According to the tourism minister.
This year, the figures for the first six months show a decrease of about 28% compared to the same period in 2021. Since Shanghai’s two-month quarantine ended in June, China has been battling epidemics across the country, including outbreaks. holiday island Hainan.
The Mid-Autumn Festival officially started on Saturday this year, and the public holiday continues until Monday.
Even if people didn’t go far, they were not very keen on going to the movies. Long weekend box office hit 370 million yuan ($53.44 million), the lowest since 2017, according to data from movie ticket site Maoyan.
The number of movie theater visits – nearly 9.2 million – was at its lowest since 2013, despite more than tripling the number of movie screenings, according to the data.
Online shopping: a bright spot
However, online shopping has continued, at least in terms of volume.
China’s postal administration said it handled about 1.8 billion packages during the holiday, similar to last year. According to an official report, 2021 figures were over 90% of 2019 levels. This year 2019 comparison has not been published.
Last week, China’s National Health Commission encouraged people to stay in place during the holidays and avoid holding large group events.
The Commission stressed that when moving between provinces, at least as is common practice in some regions, travelers must show negative virus tests taken within the last 48 hours. The health authority said this Covid policy will last until October. 31, with subsequent adjustments as needed.
designated as the capital city of Beijing guest and historic political meeting next monthhas reported infections due to two universities and a middle school in the city in the past few days. Business and social activities in the city were largely unaffected.
However, a town in the neighboring state of Hebei said it will be in lockdown for essentially four days from Tuesday, according to state media, due to a local Covid infection linked to Beijing.
This month, the southwestern city of Chengdu, known for its panda hub, ordered people to stay at home while authorities conducted mass testing for the virus. Restrictions have begun to relax over the past few days, but restaurants are still unable to allow people to eat, according to the city government.
government meeting on holiday
On Monday, as the public still celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang chaired a special meeting on the economy, state media reported. The report said that China’s four deputy prime ministers also participated.
National economic growth has slowed – to a pace of 2.5% in the first half of the year, well below the official target of around 5.5%.
In addition to the drag from Covid controls, there is a slump in China’s huge real estate market. Last week, trade data for August showed that as global demand dwindled, exports are likely to not support domestic growth as much as before.
China will release data on August retail sales, industrial production and investment on Friday.
