(Bloomberg) -- Chinese tourists’ growing interest in exploring sites off the beaten path are sustaining a post-Covid travel boom and underpinned robust demand during the country’s Golden Week holiday, according to Accor SA.
“People are rediscovering more remote places in China — there’s so many UNESCO sites, there’s so much wonderful nature travel and tourism, That’s really where we see a big part of domestic travelers going, especially with the younger generation,” Gary Rosen, Accor’s Greater China chief executive officer, told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday from Shanghai.
China saw over 2 billion domestic trips during the seven-day Golden Week holiday from October 1, an increase of 4.1% in the daily average year-on-year, state outlet China Central Television reported, citing preliminary data from the transport ministry.
While China hasn’t yet released official data, daily average tourist spending rose 69.6% in the week-long holiday from 2023 period, data from food delivery giant Meituan showed, according to local media.
“Overall it’s a positive story, especially in terms of the sheer volume of people who were traveling over the last week,” Rosen said. “When it comes to travel, this is something that people are always going to invest in. Especially domestically, the sense of discovery and culture is so critical at this time of year in terms of travel.”
More Chinese tourists have been skipping pricey foreign trips in favor of adventures at home, including road trips. It’s a shift authorities have encouraged in a bid to boost domestic spending, as consumers pull back amid China’s economic slowdown, impacting industries from retail to auto sales. The government on Tuesday promised to further support growth.
“Spending is necessarily not the same as we saw last year, which was a peak year for hotel rates,” Rosen said. Still, he said, there was increased travel over the holiday into less-traditional tourist spots like Yunnan province. In the coming months, Accor will also be watching the return of growth in the corporate meetings sector, especially compared with 2023, he added.
French hospitality giant Accor owns brands ranging from the luxury Raffles and Banyan Tree to budget chains including Ibis in China. The country remains on track to be the world’s largest tourism market in the next 10 years, Rosen said, and Accor opened its 700th local hotel this year.
--With assistance from Yvonne Man, David Ingles and Joanne Wong.
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