According to China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, national tourism revenue for the long weekend ended Monday reached 28.68 billion yuan ($4.16 billion), just 60.6% of pre-convalescence levels. epidemic in 2019, according to China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Pictured are tourists visiting Nantong Intercontinental Green Exhibition Park in Jiangsu province on September 11, 2022.
Vcg | Visual China Corporation | beautiful pictures
BEIJING – China’s tourism industry ended another holiday season with much lower revenue than before the pandemic hit.
National tourism revenue for the three days of the Mid-Autumn Festival reached 28.68 billion yuan ($4.16 billion) – just 60.6% of the pre-pandemic level in 2019, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a statement. end of Monday. This also marks a 22.8% decrease from last year.
The ministry said 73.4 million tourist arrivals, nearly 17% lower than last year’s figure and recovering only to 72.6% in 2019.
Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura, points out that tourism data fell more than for the last holiday period in early June.
“The worse business activity was mainly due to tightened Covid control measures, as individuals were advised to stay local and avoid non-essential travel during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day (National Day). 1-7/10),” he said in a report. Monday. The next Chinese public holiday will be in October.
China’s tourism has been in decline since the pandemic hit in early 2020. Domestic tourism revenue for the whole of last year was about half of what it was in 2019, according to the Ministry of Tourism.
This year, figures for the first six months of the year show a decline of about 28% year-on-year in 2021. And since Shanghai’s two-month shutdown ended in June, China has had to fight. with disease outbreaks across the country, including in Hainan resort island.
This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival officially landed on Saturday, the holiday lasts until the end of Monday.
Even if people don’t travel far, they don’t tend to go to the cinema. The long weekend box office revenue hit 370 million yuan ($53.44 million), the lowest since 2017, according to data from movie ticketing website Maoyan.
Theatrical arrivals – about 9.2 million – are the lowest since 2013, although the number of screenings more than tripled, the figures show.
Online shopping: a bright spot
However, online shopping is still increasing, at least in terms of volume.
China’s postal authority said it handled nearly 1.8 billion packages during the holiday season, similar to last year. According to an official report, the 2021 figure is 90% higher than the 2019 level. A 2019 comparison was not released this year.
Last week, China’s National Health Commission encouraged people to stay during the holiday and avoid holding large mass events.
The commission emphasized that when traveling between provinces, travelers need to present negative virus tests done within the last 48 hours – as is common practice for at least some areas. The health authority said this Covid policy will last until October 31, with further adjustments if needed.
Beijing capital, set to hold a historic political meeting next month, has reported in the past few days infections involving two universities and a middle school in the city. Business and social activity in the city remained largely unaffected.
However, due to a local Covid infection tied to Beijing, a town in neighboring Hebei province said that starting Tuesday it will be closed for essentially four days, according to state media.
This month, the southwestern city of Chengdu – known for its panda hub – ordered residents to stay at home while authorities conducted mass virus testing. The city government says restrictions have begun to ease in the past few days, but restaurants are still unable to let people in.
A government meeting during the holiday
On Monday, while the public was still celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang led a special meeting on the economy, according to state media. The report said all four Chinese vice premiers attended.
National economic growth has slowed – to 2.5% in the first half of the year and well below the official target of around 5.5%.
Adding to the drag from Covid’s control measures is the slump in China’s huge real estate market. Last week, trade data for August indicated that as global demand weakens, exports may not support domestic growth as much as in the past.
China will release August retail sales and investment and industrial production data on Friday.
