BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s tourism receipts during the eight-day Lunar New Year holiday that ended on Saturday rose 47.3% year-on-year thanks to a domestic travel boom, surpassing pre-coronavirus 2019 levels. exceeded, official data showed on Sunday. .
The data may provide temporary reassurance to policymakers as the world’s second-largest economy faces deflation risks due to weak consumer demand, but it is unlikely that tourism revitalization will be sustainable. Gender remains unclear.
Tourist destinations across the country witnessed huge crowds during the holiday, known as the world’s largest annual migration.
Domestic tourism spending rose 47.3% to 632.7 billion yuan ($87.96 billion) compared to the same holiday period in 2023 and compared to pre-COVID-19 levels in 2019, according to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. It increased by 7.7%.
The number of domestic travelers during the holidays this year rose 34.3% year-on-year to 474 million, and was also 19% above pre-pandemic 2019 levels. The public holiday in 2019 was for 7 days.
The average spend per holiday trip this year reached 1,335 yuan, according to Reuters calculations based on ministry data. By comparison, the cost per trip in 2019 was 1,238 yuan.
The holiday, also known as Chinese New Year, is traditionally a time when hundreds of millions of people return to their hometowns by plane, train or road to reunite with their families.
In terms of overseas travel, China had about 13.52 million outbound travelers during this holiday, an increase of 2.8 times compared to the same holiday period last year, according to the National Immigration Administration. According to the government, total movement of people in and out of the country over the holidays has returned to 90% of 2019 levels.
Watching movies has become one of the most popular pastimes during the holidays, with box office revenue in the country exceeding 8 billion yuan in eight days, a record high, according to the China Film Administration.
The economy has faced multiple challenges since last year, including a downturn in real estate and sluggish demand, with policymakers struggling to boost growth even as many developed countries focus on curbing persistently high inflation. Therefore, they are forced to cut interest rates.
Authorities are making a delicate balancing act to support the economy as signs of deflationary pressures call for more economic stimulus, but the People’s Bank of China on Sunday announced a major stimulus package as it rolls over maturing medium-term loans. Interest rates were left unchanged.
(1 dollar = 7.1929 Chinese Yuan)
(Reporting by Ellen Zhang, Sophie Yu, Ryan Woo; Editing by Michael Perry)