Pandemic still affecting China’s tourism industry

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

The pandemic still has a strong effect on China’s tourism industry.

Provinces are cutting prices for travel, offering tax reductions and even asking locals to help save an industry that generates millions of jobs.

Decline in tourism is continuing till nowdue to additional COVID-related travel restrictions. New lockdowns and mass testing are also important factors. The southern provinces of Yunnan and Hainan are stressed particularly, since they rely on tourism earnings to grow their economies. Northern parts of China are also struggling.

Tourism situation has become more severe in recent months with the spreading of the Omicron variant. In 2019, tourism comprised more than 11 percent of China’s gross domestic product, generating around 80 million jobs.

Continued lack of tourism is expected to remove at least 0.5 percentage points from China’s 2022 economic growth. The Chinese government is expecting the economy to grow by 5.5 percent this year.

Cancelations and cuts in air travel are major reasons as to why people are not traveling.

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