Advertisement
Coronavirus China
ChinaScience

As Covid gloom lingers, China’s tourism industry faces long road to recovery

  • Following eased pandemic controls, sector struggles to shake off three-year slump
  • Travellers with less to spend booked shorter trips during the New Year holiday

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
16
Domestic travel remained well below pre-pandemic levels over the New Year holiday. Photo: Xinhua
Catherine Wong
After China abandoned almost three years of stringent Covid-19 containment measures that had isolated the country and severely limited the movement of its people, the tourism industry has begun lurching back to life.
Advertisement
It is expected to be a long road to recovery.

Over the New Year holiday that ended on Monday, domestic travel saw a mild recovery, but remained well below pre-pandemic levels. About 52.7 million trips were recorded across the country, an increase of 0.44 per cent from the same period last year, according to data posted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The total number of trips was just 42.8 per cent of the level recorded during the pre-pandemic 2019 Near Year holiday period, while tourism revenue was just 35.1 per cent of 2019 levels.

The modest recovery in domestic tourism came as Covid infections had reportedly peaked in major cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Chengdu and Chongqing. The surge in cases across the country has disrupted travel plans for many, even after the government lifted its zero-Covid policy.

“I was so excited to finally be able to travel to Changsha to be with my boyfriend, and was planning to do some sightseeing after being holed up at home for months, only to find out I tested positive for Covid the night I got here,” said Wang Wenwen, 27, an office worker who lives in the northwestern city of Xian.

Advertisement

“We spent the whole week being stuck in the hotel room and ended up ordering deliveries every day.”

Advertisement