China rides high on domestic tourism wave as 2023 revenues reach pre-pandemic levels
Once a major economic contributor – accounting for 11.05 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product in 2019 – recovery in the tourism sector is something of a bellwether for Beijing’s efforts to revitalise the job market and stimulate consumption.
“Domestic tourism recovered significantly better than market expectations, but this was largely driven by a rebound in demand suppressed by a three-year pandemic policy,” said Lin Huanjie, dean of the Institute for Theme Park Studies in China. “It is hard to sustain this growth into next year.
“China’s domestic tourism will recover, at most, to a similar level as 2019 next year.”
This year, more Chinese tourists favoured exploring nearby cities or opting for short-distance local tours to destinations within the cities they live, CTA said in its report.
To attract more tourists, local governments have organised a number of events, including music festivals, concerts, exhibitions and sports competitions.
Among the 1,836 enterprises the report authors surveyed, nearly 80 per cent of investing firms and 46 per cent of manufacturing and service firms set aside funds for tourism projects, focusing mainly on the construction of theme parks, amusement parks and resorts.
With train tickets for the 2024 New Year’s Day holiday already up for sale, hotel bookings increased more than fivefold in the week leading up to Monday and tourists were showing the most interest in winter activities like skiing, according to a Tuesday forecast by Tongcheng Travel, a Chinese travel agency.
The Jiangsu-based company said Chinese tourists are especially interested in concerts, with attendance at those events making a significant contribution to local hotel revenues. In the first three quarters of 2023, the amount of people attending concerts exceeded the average for 2019, and the average length of a hotel booking near the concert date was seven days, far higher than the average booking cycle of one to two days.
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The most recent data from China’s tourism ministry showed the country’s travel agencies received 477,800 foreign tourists in the first six months of 2023 – only 5.58 per cent of the same period in 2019.