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China holiday travel slumps after COVID outbreaks
The decline was worse than expected and comes as analysts warn that the economic cost of keeping infections to a minimum is likely to soar, with sectors like tourism bearing the biggest brunt.
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Travellers wearing protective gear are seen at the departure hall of Beijing Capital International Airport after scores of domestic flights in and out of the Chinese capital were cancelled following the new outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Beijing, China June 17, 2020. (REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
T
he number of journeys taken over China's three-day Tomb Sweeping Festival holiday tumbled by nearly two-thirds from last year, state media said, citing data from the transport ministry, as authorities battle outbreaks of COVID-19 across the country.
The decline was worse than expected and comes as analysts warn that the economic cost of keeping infections to a minimum is likely to soar, with sectors like tourism bearing the biggest brunt.
Total trips - including rail, air, waterway, and road - reached an estimated 53.78 million over the three-day period beginning on April 3, down 63%, the official Economic Daily reported late on Tuesday.
The figure was also about 10% lower than in 2020 when parts of China were still recovering from the first coronavirus outbreak that began in central China's Wuhan.
Air travel was the worst hit, with total passenger numbers falling to an estimated 562,000, down 87% from a year ago and 54% down in 2020. Road journeys fell 53% on the year and were also slightly lower than in 2020.
China's transport ministry had said on Sunday that it expected road traffic to drop 20% and flights to fall 55% during the three-day holiday.
Throughout China, local authorities have been restricting traffic and subjecting travelers to strict testing requirements in order to curb a COVID-19 outbreak driven by the more infectious Omicron variant.
Nomura said in a note on Tuesday that around 193 million people are currently subject to full or partial lockdowns in 23 cities across China. The 23 cities account for 13.6% of the population and 22% of GDP.
"As has been the case over the last two years, the impact of containment measures has been most acute for the service sector and for smaller enterprises," said Michael Hirson, China analyst with the Eurasia Group consultancy, which is tracking the impact of COVID controls on the Chinese economy.
"These segments are critical for China's domestic economy, in particular for employment and thus consumption," he added.
