China’s tourism industry braces for Ching Ming Festival with lockdowns and travel restrictions

Residents across the country are hunkering down for another holiday where they can’t really go anywhere, or instead opt for short day trips that do little for consumption

Flight prices and bookings plunge for April as China’s zero-Covid strategy lashes the most-susceptible tourism sector

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A man paints blooming plum blossoms at a park in Beijing on Monday. The cost of flying to the capital has plunged on the mainland as lockdowns affect most Chinese provinces. Photo: AP

Published: 8:30pm, 31 Mar 2022Updated: 9:36am, 1 Apr 2022

China’s debilitated domestic tourism industry could be further clobbered by weak consumption during the coming holiday as the masses refrain from travelling far and spending while record numbers of coronavirus cases continue to spur lockdowns across the country.

The three-day Ching Ming Festival, or tomb-sweeping festival, takes place from Sunday to Tuesday, and reports by tourism agencies point to a continued preference for short-distance trips – a trend that has gathered steam as people avoid long-haul trips due to volatile travel restrictions and quarantine mandates.

But tourism consumption can hardly be boosted by day trips, according to Zhou Mingqi, founder of tourism consultancy Jingjian Consulting.

Whereas long-distance trips generally involve money being spent on transport, hotels, meals and souvenirs, short excursions may simply involve buying a ticket to an attraction. Thus, the trend decimates travel spending.

“Tourism is an industry supported by cross-regional movement and spending, and if there is no movement from province to province, from city to city, there is no market,” said Chen Xianghong, president of Wuzhen Tourism in Zhejiang province and of Gubei Water Town in Beijing.

Flight prices are also cratering. The costs of travelling to and from popular destinations such as Beijing and Guangzhou have been slashed through April, reflecting a sharp drop in bookings and signalling bleak prospects for airlines.

Viewed as the sector most susceptible to coronavirus disruptions, tourism – and the industries closely linked to it – has already been buffeted as China sticks to its zero-Covid strategy that has resulted in strict travel restrictions and mass lockdowns.

China’s tourism industry braces for Ching Ming Festival with lockdowns and travel restrictions

Residents across the country are hunkering down for another holiday where they can’t really go anywhere, or instead opt for short day trips that do little for consumption Flight prices and bookings plunge for April as China’s zero-Covid strategy lashes the most-susceptible tourism sector

Residents across the country are hunkering down for another holiday where they can’t really go anywhere, or instead opt for short day trips that do little for consumption

Flight prices and bookings plunge for April as China’s zero-Covid strategy lashes the most-susceptible tourism sector