China's holiday tourism rebound to pre-Covid levels boosts outlook
Tourists from the Chinese mainland wait at the departure hall of Hong Kong West Kowloon Station on the last day of May Day holiday on May 3, 2023.
China's tourism rebounded to pre-Covid-19 levels in the May Day holiday as the number of domestic trips rose by more than two-thirds from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday, a welcome boost for the world's second-biggest economy.
If sustained, a recovery in the service sector could ease worries that China's post-pandemic economic recovery could soon lose momentum with the property market still soft, its vast manufacturing sector weak and exports facing persistent headwinds.
Travel-hungry Chinese made 274 million domestic trips during the five-day break that began on Saturday, a rise of 70.8% from a year earlier, and 19% more than during 2019, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on its website.
During these trips, Chinese tourists spent 148 billion yuan ($21 billion), a 128.9% increase from a year earlier, and on a par with 2019 levels.
The figures from this year's May Day holiday — the first travel season since the pandemic without restrictions — are being monitored as a gauge of China's economic health.
Official data on Sunday showed activity in China's non-manufacturing sector grew in April, albeit at a slower pace than in March.
Source: CNBC
