China’s domestic tourism is emerging and supporting the economy during a gloomy period, but international arrivals are still in steady decline.
The historic town of Wuzhen with its small streets and old bridges over canals is always packed with people. Two female tourists in their 20s, while getting their hair done to take photos, praised the ancient beauty of this place. They said that after the epidemic, people flocked to travel domestically. Nearby, an ice cream seller said the recent number of tourists was “not too bad” and “about the same as before the epidemic”. Wang Ying, owner of a traditional snack shop, beamed and said “business is going very well”.
These are seen as good news for the Chinese government as boosting domestic consumption will help fight the economic downturn. The government also set a GDP growth target of “about 5%” this year amid the challenges of the gloomy period. Chinese economists believe that this goal will be difficult to achieve if the government does not take additional significant stimulus measures.
Data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism shows that during the five-day May 1 holiday, Chinese people made 295 million domestic trips, 28% higher than the same period in 2019 – the year before the pandemic. . Schubert Lou, CEO of travel company Trip.com, said domestic travel demand is very strong with hotel searches increasing by 67% and flights increasing by 80% compared to 2023.
Although domestic tourism brings admirable results, the number of international visitors continues to decline, currently only 30% compared to the same period in 2019.
Travel consultant Peng Han from Travel Daily Peng points out one problem is that per capita consumption is still low despite the increase in domestic tourists. Economic instability causes many people to still travel but spend more carefully. Pen believes that now is the time for China to find ways to attract a large number of high-spending international visitors to help boost the economy.
But they simply don’t come to China in the same numbers as before. In 2019, China welcomed 98 million international visitors. In 2023, the number will be 35 million, but not only tourists but also visitors on business trips, international students, business travelers, and visiting relatives.
Lou said international and domestic tourists traveling to China are “unbalanced”. Three years of strict Covid-19 prevention measures have reduced the number of international visitors. But this is no longer the main reason to explain the current lack of customers.
Huang Songshan, head of the Center for Tourism Research at the School of Business and Law at Edith Cowan University, Australia, believes that international arrivals are few in part because of the changing geopolitical context globally. A 2023 survey by the Pew Research Center showed that many Western visitors did not put China on their first destination list. Advice on traveling to China from many governments also shows a negative view. Washington warned citizens “should reconsider traveling to China” while Australia placed a “high level of caution” warning when advising citizens to travel to China.
Lack of flights is also a problem. In March this year there were only 332 scheduled round trips between the US and China, while this number was 1,506 in April 2019. Fewer flights cause airline ticket prices to increase, reducing the number of visitors wanting to visit.
Besides, international visitors to China still have difficulty making online payments. Payment by phone in China is very developed, but it only works easily for domestic citizens but causes headaches for international customers because of difficulty in transactions. Many shipping and trading websites are only available in Chinese, not available in English or other languages, making it difficult for international customers to buy and sell.
Professor Chen Yong at Switzerland’s EHL Hotel Business School believes that barriers related to payment and booking applications “could cause serious problems” in attracting international visitors to China.
Back in Wuzhen, the presence of international visitors was much less than in previous years but there were still a few foreign faces in the crowd. An Italian couple said using payment apps in China “is a challenge” but “not too difficult to overcome”. However, they still have to admit that the transaction would be much easier if “a Chinese friend accompanies and guides”.