Holidays at home for record number of Chinese as economic slowdown bites

Tongcheng Travel Holdings

28/09/2023 02:01

By Casey Hall and Sophie Yu
       SHANGHAI, Sept 28 (Reuters) - A record number of Chinese
are choosing to travel at home this Golden Week holiday,
potentially boosting domestic consumption but disappointing
travel agents who have been waiting for big-spending tourists to
go back abroad since the pandemic ended.
    China celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day
from Friday to Oct. 6 in the longest public holiday this year.
    The break traditionally sees an overseas exodus of
middle-class Chinese as well as bumper domestic travel, with
millions of people, mostly labourers and factory workers,
returning to their home villages.
    But as the economy struggles to recover after the pandemic,
previous holidays this year have disappointed in terms of
spending per person, as a weak job market and low incomes hurt
consumer spending.
    More Chinese are still reluctant to spend on nice-to-haves
such as overseas holidays, but how much they do spend
domestically during this holiday will be a key gauge of consumer
appetite, a crucial component for the long-term growth potential
of the world's second-largest economy. 
    "It's not wise to spend so much money," said Beijing tech
industry employee Joe Zhang, who will travel within China this
holiday after high ticket prices scuppered his plans to go to
Japan. "I'm disappointed. I haven't been abroad in three years,"
the 27-year-old added.
    The China Tourism Academy, part of the Ministry of Culture
and Tourism, estimates people will make more than 100 million
trips a day during "the most popular Golden Week in history".
    Trains are expected to be packed and the average number of
daily flights is also a fifth higher than the 2019 holiday,
according to flight app Umetrip.
    The Spring Festival break earlier this year was the first
big holiday since the end of nationwide COVID-19 curbs, but
travel was muted due to an outbreak of the virus.

    FLY LESS, BUY LESS
    While the data points towards a resurgence in domestic
tourism, the outbound market has only recovered to about 60% of
its pre-pandemic levels, said Boon Sian Chai, managing director
and vice-president of international markets for Trip.com,
China's largest online travel platform.
    Cost is a major deciding factor, as the average price of
international flights from China are up to 30% higher than
before the pandemic, partly because airlines have yet to resume
their pre-COVID schedules, Boon added.
    A resident of Anqing city, in eastern Anhui province, who
gave her family name as Cao plans to stay in her hometown this
holiday, as the monthly installments for her recently purchased
apartment were draining most of her disposable income. "I used
to travel farther, but this year I will either stay in my
hometown or go to nearby places," she added.
    China last month lifted restrictions on group tours for key
travel markets such as Japan, South Korea and the United States
but Nancy Dai, China Market Analyst at ForwardKeys, forecast
international trips to be 48% lower than pre-COVID levels in the
fourth quarter, citing visa issues and other factors.
    Booking platforms and agencies say Chinese going abroad 
favour cheaper Asian destinations, with Thailand by far the
preferred choice after it introduced a visa waiver programme.
    "If a family travels together, they can save more than 1,000
yuan," on total visa fees, said Zhou Weihong, deputy general
manager at travel agency Spring Tour. "That's not bad!"
    In 2019, mainland Chinese tourists spent $255 billion
abroad, more than any other nationality, with group tours
estimated to account for roughly 60% of that total.
    But retailers longing for the return of these tourists will
have to wait a while longer.
    "I don't think I will spend too much on shopping in
Thailand," said Wang Zheng, 31, another tech industry employee.
"The main thing is to enjoy the beach." 
    ($1 = 7.3030 Chinese yuan renminbi)

 (Additional reporting by Wang Tao in Singapore; Editing by
Marius Zaharia and Miral Fahmy)
 ((Casey.Hall@thomsonreuters.com;))