From Breakingviews: Chinese tourists have returned with lighter wallets. Spending is lower as holidaymakers find cheaper ways to have fun - that bodes ill for an already weak retail revival, say t__shum and mak_robyn
People visit a market at the tourism site of Qianmen street, in Beijing, China March 14, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang - RC2ITZ9DHT6G
HONG KONG, May 3 - Chinese travellers are opening their suitcases again, but not their wallets. More thanpeople are visiting mainly domestic spots like Shanghai and Hong Kong during the almost week-long Labour Day festivities. It's slightly more than pre-Covid levels, but spending is lower as many find cheaper ways to have fun.
This year's May holiday, which began on Saturday, marks the country's first post-pandemic travel season without restrictions. Amid a shortage of international flights, popular Chinese destinations have benefited from record crowds. Somevisitors a day poured into the gambling hub of Macau over the weekend while tickets to Beijing's Badaling Great Wall and Shanghai Disney have sold out.
Any optimism, however, looks premature. Domestic tourism revenue is forecast to be just 83% of 2019 levels, at 120 billion yuan , according to official estimates, suggesting consumers are opting for lower-cost trips. A little-known city in coastal Shandong province, , for instance, boasted the country's highest hotel room occupancy rates during the Labour Day holiday, Bloomberg reported, and went viral on Chinese social media thanks to its barbecue skewer meals.Meanwhile, overseas travel is suffering. The number of people heading from mainland China to traditionally popular Asian hotspots such as Thailand, Japan and South Korea, is low.
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