China Outbound Tourism in 2023
China’s tourism sector, that has been struggling with COVID-19 effects for years, experiences a rapid recovery in both demand and supply sides during the New Year’s Day holidays. The optimized epidemic response policy in China drives an increase in passenger and traffic flow.
The three-day holiday, which was the first since China announced an array of optimized measures for epidemic control and relaxed travel rules in Dec 2022, saw China’s interprovincial and long-distance travel recovering in a controlled manner.
The Chinese New Year Day holiday options include tours around mega-cities like Beijing and Shanghai. According to data from the academy, the demand for ice and snow tourism destinations like Harbin and Changchun is also increasing.
To promote consumption recovery, cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Shanghai have launched a variety of activities.
Many tourist attractions in China have launched entertainment shows and ice tourism products to draw tourists to their New Year celebrations.
Although consumers remain cautious, long-distance travel has started to rebound, according to Dai Bin, director at the China Tourism Academy.
The holiday saw a recovery in travel orders to scenic spots in Beijing. This is a sign that the epidemic policies were adjusted and the demand for tourist goods increased rapidly. Xu Xiaolei (marketing manager at China’s CYTS Tours) said that the scenic spots had also resumed large scale reception capacity on Sunday.
Chinese wants to travel in 2023
The public’s desire to travel increased significantly during the Chinese New Year’s holiday. Many places had railway, highway and aviation departments that paid close attention to changes in passenger flow and increased transport capacity. This ensured passenger travel.
China’s national railways carried a total of 5.53 million passengers and 6,368 train passengers on Saturday, the first day in a three-day holiday. According to China National Railway Group data, it is expected to transport 4.7 million passengers Sunday.
According to data previously provided by Qunar.com, the number and frequency of New Year’s Day air ticket bookings has increased daily since December 19, 2022.
China had lifted the quarantine requirement for international travel. They also stated that they plan to speed up the recovery of regional and international routes.
Tourism industry players in China are optimistic
Tourism industry workers are optimistic about a rapid recovery, particularly in outbound tourism, during the Spring Festival 2023. It is however evident that outbound tourism will not fully recover in the immediate future.
Read more
