According to government data released on Wednesday, China's tourism recovered to pre-COVID 19 levels for the May Day vacation as domestic travel increased by more than two-thirds from a year earlier. This is good news for the world's second-largest economy.
If maintained, a resurgence in the service sector might allay concerns that China's post-pandemic economic recovery, which has been hampered by a sluggish real estate market, a weak manufacturing sector, and persistent headwinds for exports, will soon lose steam.
Chinese travellers made 274 million domestic travels over the course of the five-day holiday that started on Saturday, up 19.% from last year and up 70.8% from the previous year, according to data posted on the website of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Chinese tourists made 148 billion yuan ($21 billion) in purchases during these journeys, a 128.9% rise from the previous year and on line with 2019 levels.
The numbers from this year's May Day holiday, which marked the first travel season without restrictions since the outbreak, are being watched as a sign of China's economic health.
According to official data released on Sunday, China's non-manufacturing sector expanded in April, albeit more slowly than in March.
"The strong holiday tourism data, together with the still-solid April services PMI, bode well for consumption and services recovery in coming months, despite the softening in manufacturing growth momentum," wrote Goldman Sachs in a note.
"This also adds conviction to our above-consensus 2023 GDP growth forecast (6.0%)."
In order to make the recovery model more sustainable, the next phase of the consumption recovery will depend on faster income growth and boosted consumer confidence, according to Goldman Sachs.
According to asset management Vontobel, China's recovery should quicken, helping enterprises that serve local customers in the leisure and e-commerce sectors as well as those centred on tourism in Asia and China.
By the end of the holiday season, May Day movie box office receipts this year exceeded 1.5 billion yuan, placing them third in May Day box office receipts in Chinese film history, according to state television on Thursday.
According to the official Xinhua News Agency, the May vacation travel surge "can be seen as a turning point of China's tourism sector."
According to the China Tourism Academy, there will be 4.55 billion domestic tourist excursions this year, an increase of 73% from 2022, according to Xinhua.
(Source:www.cnbc.com)
If maintained, a resurgence in the service sector might allay concerns that China's post-pandemic economic recovery, which has been hampered by a sluggish real estate market, a weak manufacturing sector, and persistent headwinds for exports, will soon lose steam.
Chinese travellers made 274 million domestic travels over the course of the five-day holiday that started on Saturday, up 19.% from last year and up 70.8% from the previous year, according to data posted on the website of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Chinese tourists made 148 billion yuan ($21 billion) in purchases during these journeys, a 128.9% rise from the previous year and on line with 2019 levels.
The numbers from this year's May Day holiday, which marked the first travel season without restrictions since the outbreak, are being watched as a sign of China's economic health.
According to official data released on Sunday, China's non-manufacturing sector expanded in April, albeit more slowly than in March.
"The strong holiday tourism data, together with the still-solid April services PMI, bode well for consumption and services recovery in coming months, despite the softening in manufacturing growth momentum," wrote Goldman Sachs in a note.
"This also adds conviction to our above-consensus 2023 GDP growth forecast (6.0%)."
In order to make the recovery model more sustainable, the next phase of the consumption recovery will depend on faster income growth and boosted consumer confidence, according to Goldman Sachs.
According to asset management Vontobel, China's recovery should quicken, helping enterprises that serve local customers in the leisure and e-commerce sectors as well as those centred on tourism in Asia and China.
By the end of the holiday season, May Day movie box office receipts this year exceeded 1.5 billion yuan, placing them third in May Day box office receipts in Chinese film history, according to state television on Thursday.
According to the official Xinhua News Agency, the May vacation travel surge "can be seen as a turning point of China's tourism sector."
According to the China Tourism Academy, there will be 4.55 billion domestic tourist excursions this year, an increase of 73% from 2022, according to Xinhua.
(Source:www.cnbc.com)
