China registers the highest activity in five years: what was the reason?

China recorded its highest level of activity in five years during what is known as “golden week,” the National Day holiday (October 1), which this year was extended to eight days to coincide with the Mid-Autumn Festival, reported last night the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post.

According to data from the Meituan digital services platform cited by that newspaper, average spending on services and retail purchases during these holidays increased by 153% compared to the same period in 2019, while spending on restaurant service consumption grew by 254%. %.

The figures of Ministry of Culture and Tourism They also show that during the eight holidays, up to 826 million trips were made nationwide, which represents an increase of 71.3% compared to the “golden week” of last year and 4.1% compared to the “golden week” of last year. to that of 2019, the last year before the pandemic.

The income of the national tourism sector stood at about 753,430 million yuan (104,719 million dollars, 98,786 million euros), 129.5% more than last year and 1.5% more than in 2019.” Travel frenzy is evident, and per capita consumption during the holidays has surpassed that of 2019 for the first time.

“It’s a good sign,” said the consultant. Dongwu Securitys, which, however, clarified that this good moment for tourism is insufficient when it comes to reversing the trend of slowing the post-pandemic recovery of the Chinese economy.

Regarding international travel, the National Immigration Administration of the Asian country revealed today that some 11.82 million people entered and left the country during the festive period, with almost 1.48 million on average per day, a figure that is almost three times that registered in 2022.

However, this average is still 85.1% of that experienced in 2019 and is also somewhat below the government agency’s own predictions, which expected it to be around 1.58 million passengers during the It is one of the most important times for tourism in China.

(With information from EFE)