Spending on local tourism goes up during China's Golden Week holiday

People walk along the Nanjing Pedestrian Road during the Labour Day holiday in Shanghai.

Even as clusters of lockdowns continue across the country, spending on local tourism went up during China's Golden Week holiday that ends on Friday, according to data from China's largest online travel agency Ctrip.

According to a report from Ctrip, the per capita tourism spending in local areas increased by 30% on-year during the Golden Week holiday, with short-distance, local trips comprising 65% of the tourism market.

Fang Zeqian, a Ctrip analyst, said new packages have emerged that cater to those who don't want to travel far, but still want to explore.

It comes as China has had ongoing movement restrictions due to the coronaviruses epidemic.

In September, Shanghai and Chengdu, the capital of southwestern China's province of Sichuan, was locked down.

Some companies have told employees not to leave their city of residence during the Golden Week holidays, while others are forcing students that have travelled outside their city to stay away from school for a specific time period.

Tourism revenues in China fell by almost 5% year-on-year last year, according to state media.