China’s Holiday Spending Slumps as Consumer Demand in Asia Slows
- Rail trips to cinema visits drop as Covid risks dominate China
- Demand shocks ripple through Asia, from memory chips to EVs
Visitors walk through the Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Chinese holidaymakers cut back sharply on travel and spending during the National Day break this week as strict Covid rules discouraged movement, while signs of a consumer slowdown across Asia mount.
Tourism revenue declined 26% to 287 billion yuan ($40.3 billion) over the week-long holiday from a year ago. Compared with pre-pandemic levels in 2019, revenue was down nearly 56%, and even worse than last year’s 40% decrease from 2019 levels, according to figures from the official social media account of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Roughly 422 million trips were taken, down 18% from last year and 39% from 2019 levels.