Domestic travel and spending during China’s Tomb-Sweeping festival topped pre-pandemic levels, a sign that consumption may be recovering in the world’s second-largest economy, reports Caixin. Total tourism spending over the three-day holiday rose 12.7% from 2019 on a comparable basis to RMB 53.95 billion ($7.5 billion), according to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
People made 119 million trips in the country over the break from April 4 to 6, up 11.5% from 2019, the ministry’s data show.
Compared with previous Tomb-Sweeping festival holidays, this is the first time that total spending and trips over the break have exceeded 2019 levels since the pandemic began in 2020, analysts at China Great Wall Securities Co. Ltd. said in a Monday note.