China tourism, consumption during Ching Ming Festival hit new low as Omicron sweeps nation

China’s restrictions to combat the outbreak of Covid-19 outbreak have seriously hit domestic tourism during Ching Ming

Most people stayed at home, while those who did travel, took only short trips; China’s national tourist spots suffered the worst

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China tourism and consumption were hit hard over the Ching Ming Festival, with its national tourist hotspots affected the most. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:15pm, 6 Apr 2022

Trips taken by Chinese tourists during the three-day Ching Ming Festival holiday were down by more than 26 per cent compared to last year, as the country deals with its worst coronavirus outbreak in more than two years.

Trips during the so-called tomb-sweeping festival, which began on Sunday, were at 68 per cent of the pre-pandemic level in 2019, according to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Tourism revenue also tumbled by 30.9 per cent, reaching 18.78 billion yuan (US$2.95 billion), less than 40 per cent of the value in 2019.

People have refrained from taking long journeys in case of abrupt quarantine measures and restrictions as record numbers of coronavirus cases cause lockdowns across the country.

There were an estimated 53.78 million trips – including by rail, air, water and road – made during the holiday, down 63 per cent from the previous year, and 10 per cent lower than 2020, according to data from the Ministry of Transport.

The preference for short-distance trips was confirmed by tourism agencies, reporting more than 60 per cent of bookings being within the same province.

National tourism destinations have been hardest hit. The airport at Sanya in the south of Hainan island, handled only 7,646 tourists on the first day of the holiday, 7 per cent of the 102,800 daily passengers it saw last year.

The businesses forced to shut down wouldn’t be able to come back to life immediately, and the impact on the economy at large will be long-lasting

Zhou Mingqi