Holiday rebound good news for all economic sectors

Editor's note:

China's consumption and travel saw definite recovery during the May Day holiday, which lasted from April 29 to May 3.

Services and commodities consumption, as well as domestic travel all registered double-digit growth during the first minor vacation since China adjusted its response to COVID-19 pandemic, indicating overall economic revival of the country.

Consumption

Revenues from consumption-related sectors jumped by 24.4 percent year-on-year over the May Day holiday, the State Taxation Administration said on Thursday.

According to overall figures calculated via value-added tax invoices over the holidays, the consumption of both services and commodities increased by 28.7 percent and 19.5 percent, respectively, year-on-year.

Sales revenues from tourism exhibitions and entertainment services both expanded 3.2 times over the same period last year during the holiday. In particular, sales revenues from amusement parks, partially due to last year's low base effect, increased 11 times year-on-year.

Retail and catering

Retail and catering revenues reported by key enterprises in China rose 18.9 percent year-on-year during the May Day holiday, according to the Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday.

Sales of petroleum products and automobiles rose 24.4 percent and 20.9 percent on a yearly basis, respectively; while sales of gold, silver and jewelry, clothing, cosmetics, tobacco and alcohol increased by 22.8 percent, 18.4 percent, 16.5 percent and 15.1 percent, respectively, the ministry said.

Sales of communications equipment and home appliances rose 20.1 percent and 13.9 percent year-on-year, respectively.

The passenger flow and turnover of national demonstration pedestrian streets increased by 121.4 percent and 87.6 percent, respectively, compared with the same period last year, while sales of key catering enterprises increased by 57.9 percent year-on-year, it said.

Domestic travel

A total of 274 million visits were made during the holiday, up 70.83 percent year-on-year, according to data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Wednesday. The figure is an increase of more than 19 percent for the same period in 2019.

This year's visits generated revenue of around 148 billion yuan ($21.4 billion), up 128.9 percent year-on-year, the ministry said.

Transport

The passenger volume handled by China's commercial transport network during the May Day holiday could hit over 270 million trips, or a daily average of 54.04 million, up 162.9 percent from a year ago, the Ministry of Transport projected Wednesday.

During the five-day holiday ending Wednesday, the country's railways are expected to see a daily average of 18.18 million passenger trips, up 464.4 percent from the 2022 May Day holiday.

The daily average passenger flow by air is likely to reach 1.88 million trips, 507.4 percent higher than the same period last year, while the figures for highways and waterways are expected to jump by 99.1 percent and 114.2 percent, respectively.

Expressway traffic flow during the holiday is expected to grow by 101.83 percent to nearly 62.1 million trips per day, according to the ministry.

Crossing the border

Immigration authorities across China conducted about 6.27 million inspections of people entering or leaving the mainland during the five-day May Day holiday this year, with an average daily number of 1.25 million, the National Immigration Administration released on Thursday.

Of the inspections conducted during the holiday this year, 3.12 million were for people entering China and 3.15 million were for those leaving.

Authorities also inspected 260,000 inbound and outbound fights, ships, trains and vehicles, 1.4 times higher than during the same period last year.

Commercial performance and box office

According to data from the China Performance Industry Association, 31,050 commercial performances were held nationwide during the May Day holiday, with a year-on-year increase of 417.5 percent and a rise of 49.1 percent compared with the same period in 2019.

The number of audiences reached 8.65 million, up 333.2 percent on a yearly basis.

The box office revenue was 1.52 billion yuan during the holiday, up 962.2 percent year-on-year and 18.4 percent compared with that of 2019, the association said.