China Reopening After COVID

China’s summer travel soars, with a boom in domestic and international tourism markets. The summer travel season in China is experiencing a significant boom, with airports and train stations bustling with vacationers, family visits, and students embarking on summer trips. In the first week of July, the number of flights surpassed the pre-COVID levels of 2019, with over 97,000 flights recorded. Daily passenger flights on July 7 exceeded 14,000, marking a new high for the year. Popular routes include flights between Beijing and Shanghai, as well as Shanghai and destinations in Guangdong province. China’s leading online travel agency, reported a surge in domestic and outbound flight bookings, with ticket prices for both increasing by 21% and 22% respectively compared to the previous year. Cross-border travel in China reached 34% of the 2019 level in the second quarter, with the number of international flights in June at 42% of pre-pandemic levels.To get more news about shang hai city, you can citynewsservice.cn official website.
China releases Dragon Boat Festival travel data. China’s recent reopening has witnessed some interesting developments, as indicated by the latest data from the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday (June 22-24).Compared to the same holiday period in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, more people ventured out for tourism activities, although their spending was lower, according to a report by Caixin.Data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism reveals the following: a total of 106 million domestic tourist trips were recorded, marking a 32.3 percent year-on-year increase and a 12.8 percent rise compared to 2019. However, despite a 44.5 percent year-on-year growth in tourism revenue, reaching RMB 37.3 billion (US$5.15 billion), it fell short by 5.1 percent compared to the figures from 2019.
In terms of overall travel during the Dragon Boat Festival, the Ministry of Transport reported the following numbers: rail, road, water, and air journeys witnessed an 89.1 percent year-on-year increase, but were still 22.8 percent lower than the levels seen in 2019.
Dragon Boat Festival to see 100 million tourist trips. China’s consumption has been thriving during the traditional Dragon Boat Festival, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and making it the most vibrant holiday in terms of spending in the past five years. It is expected that over 100 million passenger trips will be made by tourists during this year’s holiday, generating approximately RMB 37 billion (US$5.15 billion) in tourism revenue. Data from the China Railway reveals that on June 22, 2023, a total of 16.2 million passenger trips are anticipated, with 10,868 trains in operation. This marks an 11.8 percent increase compared to 2019. The “travel rush” during the Dragon Boat Festival is projected to result in 71 million passenger trips by rail from June 21 to June 24, averaging 14.20 million trips per day.Traditional folk tourism has gained popularity among Chinese travelers during the festival, with cities renowned for “dragon boat racing,” like Foshan, attracting numerous tourists from other provinces and regions.
Short-distance travel has also become a trending option for many during the three-day holiday.Online shopping platforms have witnessed a significant surge in tourism reservations for the festival, with a year-on-year increase of 600 percent. Outbound trips have increased twelvefold, with Southeast Asian countries being the preferred destinations. Experts anticipate that consumption will play a vital role in China’s economic growth, with final consumption accounting for over 60 percent of economic growth.Surge in Summer travel booking deals, for June 18 sales.
As the summer vacation approaches, China’s domestic travel market has witnessed a significant increase in bookings during the recently concluded June 18 online shopping festival. Industry experts have observed a notable recovery and growth in sales of long-distance travel products.Traditionally, the sales event has been limited to June 18th. However, some companies have extended the period. Fliggy, the online travel branch of Alibaba Group, organized a promotional shopping event that started on May 18th and ended on June 20th. The platform experienced a 160 percent year-on-year surge in the number of travel product orders it received, and the number of consumers making purchases doubled compared to last year.According to a research report from Bank of Communications International, the amount of money they plan to spend on domestic travel is expected to surge by 169 percent compared to last year, reaching approximately 96 percent of the pre-pandemic level in 2019.
Fliggy reported that during this year’s June 18 shopping spree, four retailers on their platform achieved transaction values exceeding 100 million yuan (US$13.9 million). Nearly 80 percent of retailers saw sales revenues increase by more than 50 percent compared to the previous year. In the case of domestic travel packages, the transaction value this year was more than six times higher than the value during the shopping festival period last year. Additionally, the number of travel agencies with transaction values exceeding 10 million yuan tripled compared to last year. The growth in sales of high-end products has been particularly robust. Luxury hotels, bed-and-breakfast stays, vouchers for business-class airplane seats, and high-end car rentals have been highly sought after by consumers.