China expects domestic travel frequency and revenues to return to pre-pandemic levels this year, but international arrivals will take longer to recover, according to a state-affiliated research institute.
A report released on February 1 by the China Tourism Academy (CTA) predicts Chinese nationals will make as many as 6 billion trips this year, about the same as 2019, though they are expected to travel shorter distances.
While domestic travel is experiencing a steady recovery since the lifting of stringent Covid-19 restrictions, only 50 per cent of the international arrivals seen in 2019 are expected to return next year, the CTA report said.
Revenue from domestic tourism is expected to bounce by 23 per cent to 6 trillion yuan (US$839 billion) from 2023 to 2024 – exceeding the 5.7 trillion yuan (US$796 billion) revenues achieved in 2019.
Tourism in China has been recovering since December 2022, when the country’s zero-Covid policy was dropped, with the number of in-country trips last year returning to about 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. Source: SCMP
