Domestic Travel Spending Rises During May Day Holiday, But Per Capita Spending Lags
Domestic travelers in China spent 166.9 billion yuan ($23.13 billion) during the May Day holiday, a 13.5% increase from pre-pandemic levels, according to government data released on Monday. However, spending per head lagged behind 2019 rates.
The total spent over the May 1 to 5 holiday was 12.7% higher than last year, shortly after China lifted COVID-19 curbs. The tourism ministry recorded 295 million domestic trips during the holiday.
Despite the increase in overall spending, spending per head during the holiday period was down 11.5% from pre-COVID levels in 2019. This suggests that while people are traveling more, they are spending less per trip.
The data dampens hopes for a rebounding consumption after spending strengthened during the Tomb Sweeping festival. However, it is not a surprise, according to Jonathan Yan, a Shanghai-based partner at consultancy Roland Berger.
"Overall, I think people are tightening their belts and confidence is subdued, but they still want experience," Yan said. He added that many travelers opted for short-haul overseas destinations such as Japan and Korea for the five-day break.
"They are not spending more money than before, but still travelling while trading down a bit or spending less on shopping," he said.
The number of short trips grew noticeably during the break, according to Guotai Junan Securities. Growth in the number of trips in small cities and counties outstripped that in big cities, travel giant Trip.com added.
Box-office sales of 1.53 billion yuan roughly matched last year's figure of 1.52 billion over the corresponding period. "Formed Police Unit", a film about Chinese police on overseas peacekeeping missions for the United Nations, topped the holiday box-office charts with earnings of more than 400 million yuan.