More than half a billion Chinese took to the road during this year’s weeklong National Day holiday, as travel began to approach pre-pandemic levels over the first major holiday since Covid-19 had been largely contained in the country, reported Caixin.
The eight-day holiday saw some 637 million trips nationwide, 79% as many as last year, which the state-affiliated China Tourism Academy (CTA) hailed as a signal of confidence that the people are returning to their pre-coronavirus lifestyles.
“Though still deeply negative in year-over-year term, the National Day Golden Week data mark a significant improvement from the holiday data of previous months,” financial services firm Nomura Holdings said in a research report, adding that China’s economic performance is still held back by a mix of factors, including remaining social distancing rules.
Tourism-related consumption bounced back over the holiday, as people who spent much of the year cooped up at home took advantage of the opportunity to travel, said Caixin. Domestic tourism-related businesses brought in RMB 466.56 billion over the holiday, down about 30% from the previous year, but a major improvement from the 60% drop over the Labor Day holiday in May.
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