CHINA. ForwardKeys and Dragon Trail International have issued an upbeat view for China domestic travel, despite recent COVID-19 outbreaks that raised fears of a travel slowdown over the Mid-Autumn Festival (21 September) and the National Day holidays from 1 October.
As we reported earlier, Chinese authorities are battling to curb the latest COVID-19 outbreak which began when a single locally transmitted case was reported on 10 September in Putian, Fujian province. Since then there have been daily counts of 20, 22, 59 and (today, from the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China) 50. Local authorities have taken a cautious approach: for example Beijing residents are advised not to travel abroad unless for essential trips, and not to visit areas classified as medium- and high-risk zones for COVID-19 in the country, state media Global Times reported.
The two travel data and research companies however noted that, in general, demand remains high for travel.
Dragon Trail International’s fourth Chinese Traveller Sentiment Survey found that more Chinese are resuming pre-pandemic travel behaviours, despite persistent concerns over safety.
43% of survey respondents said they would “travel cautiously,” up from 31% in Dragon Trail’s March 2021 survey. The proportion who said they wouldn’t travel dropped from 39% in March to 32%, while those who said they were “eager to travel” stayed the same at 20% of respondents.
ForwardKeys said that its latest travel data show a rebound in Chinese domestic bookings for air travel since the recent outbreak of COVID-19.
“We believed Chinese domestic travel would rebound quickly, as we saw that happen earlier this year. Lunar New Year travel was also badly affected by the outbreak of COVID but came back quickly when all high and medium-risk areas had been cleared in late February,” said Nancy Dai, China Market Expert at ForwardKeys.
“Looking at air tickets issued for any future travel, we see the strongest decline in early August during the largest outbreak since 2020. However, the situation was contained by mid-August. On 23 August, no new locally transmitted COVID cases were reported for the first time since July. From the week of 14 August, issued tickets increased +53% week-over-week. We will continue to see positive figures in the coming weeks as more last-minute bookings take place,” Dai added.
Furthermore, 71% of those surveyed by Dragon Trail International said they planned to travel during the upcoming National Day holiday in October. While the largest proportion said they planned to travel locally, a growing number are now willing to go further. The top cross-provincial tourism destinations were Yunnan, Beijing, Hunan, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Shanghai, Shaanxi, Hainan, Fujian, and Chongqing.
Travel reactivation, noted the analysts, is being led by leisure destinations. Nature (74%) and island & beach trips (56%) were the most sought-after themes for domestic travel.
While outbound tourism is still not possible, Dragon Trail’s survey also revealed sustained interest in international travel.
“The number of new cases at destinations has a direct impact on safety concerns, but Chinese travellers are learning to balance risk and desires. Our latest sentiment survey revealed growing frustration around restrictions and inconveniences, paired with a stronger desire to relax from constant worrying,” said Dragon Trail Manager of Research Mengfan Wang.
“81% of Chinese travellers responded positively to information about outbound destinations. Travellers were fascinated by different cultures, gastronomy, and laid-back scenery such as beaches and nature.”
International beach and island travel was the second most popular activity that respondents said they wanted to do on their next outbound trip, after trying local food.
Further findings from Dragon Trail’s Chinese Traveller Sentiment Survey will be unveiled during a webinar on 21 September. It will report on attitudes towards travel in China, factors affecting outbound travel plans and perceptions of safety for the top 15 outbound destinations. At the same event Nancy Dai will reveal final booking data for the Mid-Autumn holiday period.
To register go to this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TMf9qMSFQtmD2kC-YyYK1g
