After COVID, holiday travel in China drops

Thursday, April 7, 2022

From last year, the number of journeys taken over the three-day Tomb Sweeping Festival holiday in China fell over by almost two-thirds, state media reported, citing information from the transport ministry, as authorities fight hard to combat COVID outbreaks across the country.

The drop was worse than expected. Analysts warn that the financial cost of keeping infections to a minimum is expected to ascend, with tourism bearing the brunt in a massive way.

Over the three-day period starting on April 3rd, by rail, air, waterway and road, total trips reached an estimated 53.78 million, a decline of 63 per cent, the official Economic Daily reported late on Tuesday.

Also, compared to 2020, the figure was about 10 per cent lower when parts of China were recovering from the first coronavirus outbreak in a slow manner that all started in Wuhan.

Air travel was worst hit. The area with total passenger numbers falling to an estimated 562,000, i.e. down 87 per cent from a year back and 54 per cent down on 2020. Journeys on road dropped by 53 per cent on the year, and were also slightly lower than 2020.

On Sunday, the transport ministry of China had explained that during the three-day holiday, it hoped road traffic to decrease 20 per cent and flights to fall 55 per cent.

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