CHINA. The Labour Day holidays, so crucial to the country’s domestic travel retail sector (and usually to its international counterpart), have begun in muted fashion amid ongoing lockdowns in Shanghai and parts of Beijing and mass testing in Guangzhou.
The Hainan offshore duty free business, usually a prime beneficiary of the island’s Labour Day holiday tourism influx, is set for a much quieter period.
Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported on Friday that the number of trips nationwide will slump by -62% year-on-year to around 100 million during the five-day holiday period, citing Ministry of Transport forecasts.
“Most people will stay local and travel short distances, taking the pandemic situation and local government COVID prevention and control measures into account,” said Zhou Min, Deputy Director of the Ministry’s Emergency Office, quoted in the report.
Short-distance trips within travellers’ own provinces is a popular option reported China Daily and National Business Daily, citing findings from online travel agency Ctrip.
As of 25 April, about 52% of tourism bookings for the holiday made through Ctrip were within the users’ own provinces. In Guangdong and Sichuan provinces, the figure is close to 80%.
