China reported increased visitor numbers and travel spending over the three-day Dragon Boat Festival, surpassing figures from last year's holiday season and 2019 before the pandemic, despite a long and uneven economic recovery.
China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism said 110 million tourists visited the country from Saturday to Monday, up 6.3 percent from a year ago. Tourist spending was 40.35 billion yuan ($5.56 billion), up 8.1 percent from the same holiday last year.
“The domestic cultural and tourism market generally remains stable and orderly,” the ministry said in a statement releasing the statistics online on Monday.
Steven Zhao, CEO of online travel company China Highlights, said the increase in sales over the long weekend bodes well for China's upcoming school holidays, but that this year's summer vacation indicators may not reach the levels of last year, when tourism “exploded” as coronavirus restrictions were lifted just months ago.
But university entrance exams, held on Friday and Saturday, will finish before the summer holidays, giving families the chance to travel, he said.
“This year's summer travel boom may be more stable than last year's,” Zhao said, but he added that “students make up a large group of travelers.”
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Tourists discover waterfall in China with water supplied through pipes
Tourists discover waterfall in China with water supplied through pipes
Before the pandemic, China recorded 96 million tourists visiting the Dragon Boat Festival weekend in 2019, spending 39.33 billion yuan.
An increase in travel was also reported over the five-day May Day holiday, with 295 million domestic trips made during that period, up 7.6% from a year earlier and 28.2% compared to pre-COVID-19 levels in 2019, according to ministry data.
Tourism revenue for May Day reached 166.89 billion yuan, up 12.7% year-on-year and 13.5% over 2019.
The increase in travel and spending over May Day outstripped those for Qingming Festival in early April and Chinese New Year in February, state media Global Times reported.
According to data from the National Immigration Administration, 5.75 million people entered mainland China from overseas during the most recent holiday period, up 45.1% from the 2023 Dragon Boat Festival period.
With China's fragile economic recovery (with consumption particularly suffering) since the zero-COVID measures were lifted at the end of 2022, tourism is seen as one indicator of consumer confidence.
Over the Dragon Boat Festival weekend, throngs of tourists with children and cell phone cameras flocked to parks and beaches across the country, filling major hotels and restaurants to capacity in some places.
Some visitors followed holiday traditions by taking part in dragon boat races and eating dumplings, while others preferred “experiential” trips to farms or found “recreational spaces” in shopping districts, the ministry statement said.
Zhang Chen, vice president of Chinese travel platform Fliggy, said today's diversity in travel preferences bodes well for summer vacations. Zhang called the Dragon Boat Festival a “harbinger” of this summer, traditionally the peak holiday season.
“They are not only enthusiastic about their travel plans, but are also actively making arrangements,” Zhang said in a statement to The Washington Post. “This trend strengthens our optimism for a significant increase in domestic tourism spending this summer.”
