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Visitors near the Yuyuan Bazaar in Shanghai, China, on Sunday, February 11, 2024.
Raúl Ariano | Bloomberg | fake images
China’s travel activity and spending rose above pre-pandemic levels over the Lunar New Year holiday, in a sign that consumption was improving in the world’s second-largest economy.
During the eight days of the festival, some 474 million domestic trips were made, an increase of 34.3% compared to the previous year, according to to the data published by the from the country Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Sunday.
Tourists spent nearly 632.7 billion yuan ($87.95 billion) on domestic holiday trips, a year-on-year increase of 47.3%, according to the data.
state broadcaster China Central Television said Citing the ministry, domestic travel represented a 19% increase over the same period in 2019, while spending rose 7.7%.
The strong data comes at a time when authorities in China have been struggling to boost domestic consumption as the country faces deflationary pressures.
The Chinese mainland recorded 3.6 million tourist departures and 3.23 million tourist arrivals during the holidays, according to the ministry, as mutual visa-free travel with certain countries accelerated the recovery of both inbound and international travel. outgoing during the holidays.
The Lunar New Year is China’s most important holiday and is often considered a key metric for measuring consumer appetite in the country.
However, the sustainability of the increase in travel remains uncertain, as tourism revenue per trip still remains below the pre-pandemic level.
“While we see some strength in the data, we urge market participants to proceed with caution,” Nomura analysts wrote in a note to clients, noting that the numbers reflected pent-up consumer demand as this was the first holiday of the new year that was celebrated. has not been affected by pandemic-related factors since 2019.
“When interpreting the remarkably high year-on-year growth rates, we must take into account last year’s very low base during the height of the Covid ‘exit wave’,” Nomura said.
Chinese stocks rose on Monday, led by the tourism sector, as they resumed trading after a week-long shutdown.
Market participants have also been keeping an eye on any additional stimulus measures from Chinese authorities that would support the economy and potentially boost spending this year.
The People’s Bank of China on Sunday held its key policy rate steady, as expected, as investors reassessed when the U.S. Federal Reserve might begin easing monetary policy this year.
A delay in rate cuts could potentially limit Beijing’s room to guide its own policy, as US monetary easing bodes well for the yuan.
People’s Bank of China Vice Governor Zhang Qingsong said earlier this month that the country has also been encouraging local banks and businesses to accept foreign bank cards and was considering other measures to make mobile payment even easier for visitors. international.
— CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng and Clement Tan contributed to this report.