China’s domestic tourism booms during May Day holiday, surpassing pre-pandemic figures

As China emerges from coronavirus restrictions, an extraordinary trend is taking place – hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens are flocking to tourist attractions around the country. The May Day public holiday, which lasts for five days from April 29, has seen the China Tourism Academy predicting over 240 million passenger trips, beating pre-pandemic figures. Both of Beijing’s airports saw record numbers of flyers on the first day of the break, while hotspots and resorts that were recently ghost towns are now fully back to life. As China’s mammoth economy attempts to recover from the pandemic, this tourism boost is much-needed. While international travel remains a concern for many Chinese citizens, domestic travel has bounced back to pre-COVID levels, providing a welcome windfall for the country’s tourism industry.