China’s Labor Day holiday in 2023 saw an explosion in home and tourism, with spending and movements topping 2019 degrees, as other people were able to do so unhindered for the first time since the pandemic began. Meanwhile, the foreign has increased particularly compared to recent years, it has not yet returned to the degrees of 2019, despite a sharp increase in demand. We break down the latest holiday data from Chinese government ministries and online agencies to talk about the Chinese tourism rebound and the latest trends.
China’s Labor Day holiday in 2023 saw a large accumulation of tourism, with an internal recovery and even surpassing 2019 degrees for the first time since the pandemic began, according to data from China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MOCT) and various online agencies (OTAs).
Labor Day in China, which took place from April 29 to May 3, 2023, is one of the 3 annual “Golden Week” holidays, along with Chinese New Year and national holidays. Therefore, the holidays have become one of the most important tourist seasons in the country. , with millions of others leaving each year on holidays and family visits. However, traveling the Labor Day holiday in recent years, and in 2022 in particular, has noticed that their numbers have dropped particularly due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Labor Day 2023 is the first national holiday since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in late 2022, during which domestic travel fully recovered, and even surpassed, pre-pandemic levels. Some recovered from the influence of the pandemic, and that concerns around travel and crowds that persisted for some other people during the 2023 Chinese New Year holiday have disappeared.
Below, we take a look at the latest insights from the Chinese MOCT and OTAs on China’s domestic and foreign travel on the May 1, 2023 holiday and talk about emerging travel trends.
According to data released by the MOCT on May 3, there were a total of 274 million domestic trips during the May 1 holiday nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 70. 83%. This equates to more than 119% of the figures. recorded the same era in 2019. Meanwhile, domestic tourism revenue reached RMB 148 billion (about U. S. $21. 4 billion), a year-on-year accumulation of 128. 9 percent to 100. 7 percent of the degrees recorded in the same era in 2019.
According to the Ministry of Transport (MOT), there was an average of 54 million daily trips on national roads, waterways and airlines on public holidays, a cumulative of 162. 9% compared to 2022.
Among trips, an estimated 18. 2 million were made by rail, 464. 4% more than at the same time in 2022; 32. 6 million by road, up 99. 1 per cent; 1. 4 million were made by inland waterways, 114. 2% more; and around 1. 9 million were carried out by air, 507. 4% more than in 2022.
It also estimated that there were an average of about 62. 1 million cars on national highways during the day, most of which were small passenger cars, or about 56. 3 million during the day on average.
To the knowledge of FlightAI, the flight tracking platform owned by Trip. com Group (which also owns OTA Ctrip), more than 80,000 domestic flights were made on China’s Labor Day holiday, with a daily average of about 15% more than in 2019.
It turns out that demand for flights has outstripped supply; Although domestic flights are back to full capacity, the popularity of airline ticket price searches is 162% higher than at the same time in 2019.
The average airfare price also increased by 39% through 2019 to reach RMB 1,211 for one-way airfare.
The most popular domestic flight routes were between Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Chengdu.
Outbound travel also saw a significant increase, as travelers were able to leave the country for the first May 1 holiday since the pandemic began. According to Ctrip data, overall booking volume for outbound travel increased by nearly 700% compared to last year. with overseas airline and hotel bookings expanding by almost 900% and 450%, respectively, compared to the same era in 2022.
However, despite the jump in foreign bookings from 2022, the volume of foreign flight bookings has not yet returned to pre-pandemic points. According to data from Ctrip, foreign flights during the Labor Day holiday reached about 40% of the registered point. in 2019, despite an increase in search interest of more than 60% compared to the same year.
Meanwhile, according to Chinese OTA Tuniu, only about 30% of users who traveled traveled to Hong Kong and Macau. Other popular destinations include Thailand, Maldives, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Russia and Fiji. .
The slow recovery of foreign flights to and from China is partly explained by the fact that there are even fewer foreign air routes in service than before the pandemic. This is especially true for flights to Europe and North America, flights between the U. S. and Canada. It would still be 94% below pre-pandemic levels at the end of April 2023. On May 3, 2023, the U. S. Department of Transportation (U. S. )The U. S. government issued an order to allow Chinese airlines’ flights to make 12 circular trips to and from the U. S. U. S. per week, a move that could help build between the two countries.
This means that foreign ticket prices have remained relatively high, although this challenge persists in Asia, not just China. According to Ctrip data, the average charge of a one-way foreign airfare during the Labor Day holiday was 2104 RMB (about $304), an increase of 34% over the same era in 2019.
In addition to the resumption of travel, China’s Labor Day holiday has also seen a significant increase in sales of tourist attractions, occasions and activities, with figures in some cases exceeding 2019 levels.
For example, according to data from Ctrip, the number of tickets sold for national tourist spaces multiplied by nine compared to last year and doubled with respect to the same era in 2019. The five most popular tourist spots for tourists from the surrounding area were: Shanghai Disney Resort, Humble Manager’s Garden, Huangshan Scenic Area, Mount Emei, and Mount Huashan.
According to the MOCT, around 47,500 “mass cultural activities”, such as dances, chants and “village nights”, were held across the country with around 166 million participants.
In addition, there were a total of 31,100 advertising performances across the country, and the revenue of Chinese boxes reached RMB 1. 5 billion with about 8. 6549 million other people watching the performances.
Meanwhile, 86% of China’s A-level tourist attractions (tourist attractions that earned an official score from the China National Tourism Administration) were normally open during the holidays, totaling 12,800. Most of those that were not open were due to seasonal closures in the north of the country.
Ctrip data shows that other people have advanced more than in recent years. According to the data, the ratio increased by 25% compared to 2022, while interprovincial hotel bookings accounted for more than 70% of total hotel bookings.
The average distance traveled by plane was 1638 km, roughly the distance between Shanghai and the regional capital of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot. This marks a four-year peak, with a distance returning to 98% of the average recorded in the same era in 2019, according to Cvacation. The distances covered through the bullet exercise also increased significantly, with one-way holidays reaching 389 km, about 80% of the 2019 level, roughly equivalent to a one-way holiday from Shanghai to Huangshan, a city and the call of a picturesque mountain in Anhui province.
The increase in distance traveled on the Labor Day holiday marks a reversal of a trend seen by the pandemic when, due to the sporadic nature of COVID-19 restrictions in China, other people increasingly liked short-distance travel or urban travel to longer trips. The construction of short-distance trips, in turn, has helped increase the popularity of activities such as city camping and so-called “self-guided tours,” which allow for greater flexibility.
People born after the year 2000 are becoming a vital customer organization for China’s tourism industry and outbound tourism. According to Ctrip, the volume of reserves of the so-called “post-00” generation is more than 10 times greater than the same. time in 2019.
In addition, many post-2000 tourists are also venturing for the first time, mainly to destinations in Asia, with some of the most popular first foreign bookings for other 18- to 23-year-olds in Bangkok, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur.
Ctrip also noted that the buying power of recent college graduates and young users who recently entered the task market is also more vital in the tourism space. For example, for outbound trips and organization trips on the Ctrip platform, those users spent RMB 6,562. (about $949) on China’s Labor Day, growth of about 25% from pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, the value of ordering independent travel products abroad was about 15,000 RMB (about 2,170 USD).
Despite the accumulation of long-distance travel, autonomous tours, in which other people rent a car and drive to destinations and tourist sites, are only gaining popularity. -in the year, an accumulation of more than 300% compared to the same era in 2019.
In addition, other people now seem to be traveling further on their self-guided tours, as evidenced by the fact that citywide pickup and drop-off bookings are up 137% year-over-year.
While output has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, it is transparent that some regions have already begun to take advantage of China’s reopening of borders.
Ctrip data shows that neighboring Asian countries were the smartest choice for mainland Chinese travelers, with only about 70% of overseas trips planned for the Labor Day holiday in Southeast Asia. Some of the most popular destinations were the regions of Hong Kong and Macau, as well as Singapore, Phuket, Seoul, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Osaka and Taipei. In addition, flight and hotel bookings to many of those locations have surpassed 2019 levels, although outbound trips are still below.
China was the most sensitive source of foreign tourists before the pandemic, with a total of 155 million outbound tourists in 2019. Tourism industries in many countries, namely those in East and Southeast Asia, had come to depend on such tourists as their destination. This accumulation in Asian destinations, therefore, bodes well for the rebound of tourism industries in destination economies.
About us
China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira
Dezan Shira
Our loose webinars are packed with data for doing business in China.
Subscription allows you to do this, as well as get lost with our articles and magazines.
Sign up here to get your free subscription to our weekly newsletter.
No subscription fees!
Type the keyword to start the search. . .