China’s tourism revenues for the Lunar New Year holidays soared this year and beat pre-Covid levels, bringing some respite to the country’s deflation-wary policymakers.
Domestic tourism spending jumped by 47.3% to 632.7 billion yuan ($87.96 billion) from the same holiday period in 2023, data by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism showed on Sunday.
A longer-than-usual break — lasting eight days, instead of the usual seven — boosted overall spending, as did a boom in domestic and international trips.
Also on AF: China Evergrande Liquidators May Sue Its Auditor PwC – Report
Compared to the 2019 Lunar New Year holiday before the Covid pandemic struck the country, domestic tourism spending rose 7.7% and domestic trips increased 19%, according to the tourism ministry data.
The total entry-exit trips during the holiday also returned to 90% of the 2019 levels, data from the National Immigration Administration showed.
Temporary relief
The number of domestic trips made during this year’s holiday grew by 34.3% from a year ago, totalling 474 million.
For international travels, China witnessed around 13.52 million inbound and outbound trips during the holiday, growing by 2.8 times from the same holiday period last year, according to the immigration administration’s data showed.
Known as the world’s largest annual migration, the Lunar holiday is traditionally the time hundreds of millions of Chinese return to their hometowns by air, train or road to reunite with family members.
Since the onset of the pandemic and up until last year, that migration was severely hit by Beijing’s strict pandemic protocols. Even as domestic travel picked up as the economy open up, the surging infections still cast a shadow on holiday travel in 2023.
While the boom this year will offer some relief to Chinese policymakers, the sustainability of the tourism boost remains uncertain.
The world’s second-largest economy has been facing deflationary risks, weak consumer demand, and persistent youth unemployment. A downturn in the property sector — a major driver of employment — has further taken a toll on demand.
On Sunday, China’s central bank left a key policy rate — the borrowing cost of the one-year MLF loans — unchanged amid the uncertainty around the timing of an easing by the US Federal Reserve.
Beijing’s decision came as any aggressive monetary movement risks reviving depreciation pressure on the Chinese currency and capital outflows.
View this post on Instagram
- Reuters, with additional editing by Vishakha Saxena
Also read:
China Sees Biggest Fall in Consumer Prices Since 2009
China’s Deflation And Weak Economy Point to Another Bumpy Year
‘Cheaper The Better’ Calls Harden China Deflation Battle
Mortgage Delinquencies in China Soared by 43% in 2023
China’s Property Struggles Deepen as New Home Prices Dive
China’s Property Sector Will Remain Weak For Years: Goldman
China Not a Risk, Premier Li Tells Davos Business Leaders
Chinese Economy is in Trouble, US Nobel Laureate Says – NYT
