China's Domestic Tourism Spending Outpaces Pre-Pandemic Levels During Lunar New Year Celebrations

China’s domestic tourism spending during the Lunar New Year has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, indicating a significant recovery in the country’s tourism sector.

What Happened: Tourism spending during the Lunar New Year in China has exceeded the pre-COVID levels. The official data shows that domestic tourism spending reached 632.7 billion yuan ($87.96 billion), which is 47% higher than the same holiday period last year, reported BBC.

The holiday period, marking the start of the Year of the Dragon, saw a surge in domestic trips, with 474 million trips taken during the eight-day break, a 34% increase from the previous year and 19% higher than the pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

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Despite the increase in trips, the average spending on each trip was down by approximately 9.5% compared to 2019, indicating a trend of “consumption downgrading,” as noted by analysts from Goldman Sachs, according to the report.

This increase in spending during the Lunar New Year is a rare positive sign for China’s economy, which has been facing challenges such as a property market crisis, weak exports, and concerns about falling consumer prices.

Why It Matters: This surge in domestic tourism spending comes in the wake of a significant decline in China’s overseas travel. China’s overseas travel has not significantly recovered since the COVID-19 pandemic, with outbound airline capacity in 2023 standing at just 60% of 2019 levels.

Despite the challenges faced by China’s economy, an expert had voiced that fears of China's economic decline are "utterly premature," asserting that investing in China presents "enormous advantages." This recent surge in domestic tourism spending during the Lunar New Year could be seen as a sign of resilience in China’s economy.

This development comes amid other significant changes, Taiwan has put a halt on new group tours to China as a response to Beijing's refusal to allow Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan and a controversial flight path change in the Taiwan Strait.

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