Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images BEIJING — China’s tourism sector ended another public holiday with revenues well below what they were before the pandemic hit. National tourism receipts for the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival reached 28.68 billion yuan ($4.16 billion) — just 60.6 percent of 2019’s pre-pandemic levels, the Ministry of Culture and Sports announced late Monday. Tourism. The number was also down 22.8% from last year. Tourist trips of 73.4 million were nearly 17 percent lower than last year’s figure and had only recovered to 72.6 percent of 2019 levels, the ministry said. Tourism figures fell more than during the last public holiday in early June, said Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura. “The deterioration in business activity was mainly due to the tightening of Covid control measures, as individuals have been advised to stay local and avoid unnecessary travel during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day (October 1-7),” it said in a report. of. dated Monday. China’s next public holiday will be in October. Chinese tourism has slumped since the pandemic hit in early 2020. Domestic tourism revenue for all of last year was about half of what it was in 2019, according to the tourism ministry. This year, figures for the first six months showed a drop of about 28% from the same period in 2021. And since a two-month lockdown in Shanghai ended in June, China has battled outbreaks across the country, including in the resort Hainan. This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival officially landed on Saturday, with the public holiday lasting until Monday. Even if people didn’t travel far, they didn’t tend to go to movie theaters. The weekend box office reached 370 million yuan ($53.44 million), the lowest since 2017, according to data from movie ticketing website Maoyan. The number of cinema visits — about 9.2 million — was the lowest since 2013, despite a tripling of the number of movie screenings, the data showed.
Online shopping: a bright spot
However, online shopping has held up, at least in terms of volume. China’s postal authority said it handled nearly 1.8 billion parcels during the holiday, similar to last year. The 2021 figures were well above 90% of 2019 levels, according to an official report. The 2019 comparison was not released this year. Last week, China’s National Health Commission encouraged people to stay put during the holiday and avoid holding large group events. The committee stressed that when moving between provinces, travelers must show negative virus tests taken in the last 48 hours – as has been the general practice for at least some areas. The health authority said this Covid policy will last until October 31, with subsequent adjustments as required.
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The capital Beijing, which is set to host a historic political meeting next month, has reported cases in recent days linked to two universities and a high school in the city. Business and social activity in the city remains largely unaffected. However, due to a local Covid infection linked to Beijing, a city in neighboring Hebei province said that starting Tuesday, it would effectively lock down for four days, according to state media. This month, the southwestern city of Chengdu – known for its panda hub – ordered people to stay home while authorities conducted mass virus testing. Restrictions have begun to ease in recent days, but restaurants still cannot let people dine inside, according to the city government.
Government meeting during the holidays
On Monday, while the public was still celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang led a special meeting on the economy, according to state media. All four of China’s vice presidents attended, the report said. National economic growth slowed — to a 2.5 percent pace in the first half of the year and well below the official target of about 5.5 percent. Adding to the impact of the Covid controls is a slump in China’s massive property market. Last week, trade data for August showed that as global demand eased, exports would likely not support domestic growth as much as previously. China is due to release August retail sales, industrial production and investment data on Friday.
