China’s weak consumption over Lunar New Year may signal ‘worsening economy’, analysts say

Deterred by the discouraging travel policies and sporadic outbreaks of the Omicron variant, more than 70 per cent of domestic tourists chose short-distance trips

A nearly 48 per cent increase in trips among migrant workers from January 17-31 did little to help boost box office receipts and tourism revenue, Nomura says

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Customers shop for Lunar New Year deals at a duty-free shop in Haikou, capital of south China’s Hainan province, on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 6:33pm, 7 Feb 2022Updated: 6:56pm, 7 Feb 2022

Consumption over the week-long Lunar New Year holiday in China failed to get anywhere near pre-pandemic levels, and some analysts warn that the downtrend could signal a worsening economy.

During the holiday period that ended on Sunday, Chinese tourists took 251 million trips and contributed 289.2 billion yuan (US$45.4 billion) in tourism revenue – 26.1 per cent and 43.7 per cent less than the respective totals during the holiday in 2019, and 2 per cent and 3.9 per cent below the holiday last year, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Similar to last year, local authorities across the country urged people to stay put for the holiday, while ramping up efforts to curb travel, including by imposing stringent quarantine measures and offering cash handouts to people who stuck around.

Deterred by the discouraging policies and sporadic outbreaks of the Omicron coronavirus variant, more than 70 per cent of domestic tourists chose short-distance trips, according to online travel agency Qunar.com.

The total number of trips taken on major types of transport from January 17-31 – the busy pre-holiday travel period for migrant workers returning to their hometowns – saw a 47.6 per cent increase from last year, but it was still 64.6 per cent less than in 2019, according to the Ministry of Transport.