According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, tourism trips in China during the three-day Dragon Boat Festival last week increased by 32.3% compared to the previous year, reaching an
estimated 106 million trips. This figure is also 12.8% higher than the pre-pandemic level recorded in 2019. The tourism numbers in China are closely monitored as an indicator of consumer demand in the country, especially as Beijing looks to implement measures to boost economic growth amid signs of a faltering recovery post-COVID-19 restrictions.
While overall travel during the holiday period from Thursday to Saturday increased by 89.1% year-on-year, it remained 22.8% below the levels seen in 2019, according to data from the transport ministry published in state media. However, revenue from domestic tourism trips during the Dragon Boat Festival rose by 44.5% compared to the previous year, amounting to 37.31 billion yuan ($5.20 billion). This recovery represents 94.9% of the 2019 level, signaling positive progress in the tourism sector.
The comparison between the 2023 and 2019 figures was made using comparable standards, although specific metrics were not provided by the tourism ministry. It is worth noting that the rebound in tourism during the Dragon Boat Festival was smaller compared to the five-day May Day holiday, which saw a surge of 70.8% in domestic tourism trips compared to the previous year and a 19.1% increase from 2019. Revenue during the May Day holiday also showed significant growth, with a 128.90% increase compared to the previous year, reaching the levels of 2019.
According to Ctrip, China's largest online travel agency, ticket orders for domestic tourism sites during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday doubled compared to 2019. However, trips across mainland China's borders averaged 1.32 million per day during the holiday, which is more than double the previous year's level but only 64.6% of the level recorded in 2019, according to data from the National Immigration Administration. The majority of cross-border trips were made by mainland Chinese people, followed by residents of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau, and people from other regions.
The positive recovery seen during the Dragon Boat Festival provides hope for the revitalization of the tourism industry in China, although challenges remain in achieving pre-pandemic levels across all aspects of the sector. Photo by Kelvin Ma, Wikimedia commons.
