China’s domestic travel recovery has been disrupted by anti-importation ‘special forces’

Shanghai, May 18, 2010 (FBC) When graduate student Cai Xishan decided to spend her Labor Day holiday in northern China, she wished she had enough money to hire a car for the more than 4,000 km (2,500 miles) round trip – equivalent. Driving from New York to Los Angeles.

Instead, she chose “travel as a special force,” a new trend in China that has emerged as a sign of weakness in household consumption and is casting a shadow over a post-pandemic recovery in domestic tourism.

Cai, 22, mostly takes slow trains and buses to and from Hangzhou, where she studies, in northern Shaanxi province and back.

To get to the ancient temples, pagodas and grottos she wanted to visit, she would walk 30,000 steps a day. For accommodation, she opted for night trains and cheap hostel beds.

In nine days, she spent just 2,500 yuan ($362).

“I don’t have much money, but I like to travel,” Kai said. “I can control expenses, to go to many places with less money, but it is very tiring.”

The hashtag “special forces travel” on social media refers to the brutal attack in the tourist area to see and do what little money one can spend – before and after the working day break. April.

Kai was inspired by the online discussions, as were many other Chinese travelers who were surprised by their frugality.

Data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism showed growth in domestic travel this year, with many Chinese following three years of COVID-19 restrictions that have kept them mostly at home.

Between April 28 and May 3, 274 million trips were made during the covered May holiday for most Chinese, up 19% from 2019 before the outbreak.

But total spending was 148 billion yuan ($21 billion), the same as in 2019, meaning travelers spent an average of 540 yuan in 2023, compared to 603 yuan in 2019.

In another sign of wallets, international travel by Chinese tourists this year is slightly below pre-pandemic levels.

“The Chinese are not ready to spend as much money as before and although the government … tries to stimulate consumption and reduce excessive savings, I doubt it will be able to manage,” said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific. Natsis research.

People need jobs and higher wages to start spending big again.

Domestic consumption, which Chinese policymakers want to play a bigger role in boosting the world’s second-largest economy, recovered after the lifting of Covid restrictions in December, but has weakened consistently this year.

China’s struggling property market, record high youth unemployment and widespread worries about job stability, as well as government amnesty on wages, pensions and medical benefits, are making consumers wary, analysts say.

Data on Tuesday showed retail sales rose 18.4% in April last year when Shanghai was under lockdown, beating expectations for a 21.0% increase. Consumer confidence is up from last year’s record low, but below two-decade lows.

One travel blogger, who posts on an Instagram-like social media app called Isikube Xiaohongshu, told Reuters he slept overnight in a public toilet to save money on a trip to Mount Huangshan in southern Anhui province.

“It’s worth it,” said the blogger, who declined to give his real name.

“Even though I suffered a little, I spent my best money to see the beautiful scenery. In the future, I may add a little to the budget to improve the accommodation conditions.”

For those betting on the pace of consumer spending as the year progresses, all may not be lost.

Xing Zikong, a 23-year-old beginner, tried to visit the historic Silk Road city of Xi’an on shoelaces, but found it too uncomfortable and ended up spending more money than planned.

“Maybe I didn’t wear the right shoes, but after walking more than 10,000 steps, my feet started to hurt,” she joked, exemplifying the “war-torn special forces journey.”

($1 = 6.9121 Chinese Yuan Renminbi)

reporting by Casey Hall and the Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Marius Zaharia and Lincoln Fest.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.