China’s domestic travel during the eight-day Golden Week holiday surged from a year earlier and exceeded pre-pandemic levels, according to official data, but growth showed signs of slowing and came below government expectations.
Travelers in China made 826 million domestic trips over the Mid-Autumn and National Day holiday that ended Friday, up 71.3% from a year ago and 4.1% higher than pre-pandemic 2019 levels, data from the Ministry of Cultural and Tourism showed.
However, the growth in travel during the Golden Week holiday was slower compared with the Labor Day holiday in May and the Dragon Boat Festival in June, which suggested that the service sector’s recovery has slowed, Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients Monday.
The number of travelers during the Labor Day holiday and the Dragon Boat Festival was 19.1% and 12.8% higher than 2019 levels, the investment bank noted.
The service sector suffered the most from Beijing’s draconian Covid restrictions, which were lifted late last year.
The latest data also came in below the government’s projections made before the holiday, which expected higher traveler numbers and tourism revenue. The cultural and tourism ministry had expected 896 million trips to be made, generating 782.5 billion yuan ($108.75 billion) of revenue.
During the eight-day holiday, China’s domestic tourism market recorded CNY753.4 billion in revenue, more than double from a year earlier and up 1.5% from the 2019 level, according to the official data.
China’s inbound and outbound trips also surged year on year during the holiday, recovering to 85% of the pre-pandemic level, but also below the previous government forecast, official data showed.
The average inbound and outbound passenger trips per day hit 1.477 million during the eight-day holiday, which was longer than normal as the Mid-Autumn festival coincided with the National Day holiday this year. The number was equivalent to 85.1% of the 2019 level, but nearly quadruple the 2022 average, said the National Immigration Administration. The government had earlier expected an average of 1.58 million daily inbound and outbound passenger trips during the holiday.
Retail sales by the country’s major retail and catering companies rose 9% on year during the first seven days of the Golden Week holiday, said the country’s commerce ministry. The nation’s movie box office revenue reached CNY2.7 billion, with its daily average higher than the 2022 level, but well below the 2021 and 2019 levels, according to Dengta App, a movie-data tracking platform.
While China’s service recovery continues, the country’s property sector still seems to be struggling, despite additional government support measures. New-home transactions by floor area during the eight-day holiday in 35 cities monitored by the China Index Academy fell around 20% from a year earlier and from 2019 levels, the state-run Securities Times reported.
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