China hails domestic tourism 'boom' (still below 2019 level)

Despite a 14.8 per cent rise over the previous 12 months, last year’s figures remain far from the record six billion domestic travellers reached before the pandemic. With upgraded transport infrastructure, more Chinese can discover new sites. The boom in Xinjiang is politically designed to promote sinicisation.

Milan (AsiaNews/Agencies) – China is hailing the growth of domestic tourism in 2024, which saw a jump of 14.8 per cent over the previous year, but a far cry from what was forecast.

Official data on travel within the country, a key indicator of economic recovery, were highly anticipated, considering the sharp drop in Chinese travelling abroad, a recent reversal of previous trends.

Released today, 2024 data show a sharp increase in Chinese travel over the previous year, with numbers back up to 2018 levels. However, gains are modest compared to what some key observers had predicted just a few months ago.

The authorities were hoping to exceed the record six billion domestic travellers reached in 2019, the year before the pandemic, and so had to settle with 5.615 billion.

As late as October, a report by the World Travel and Tourism Council and Oxford Economics predicted that Chinese domestic tourism would close 2024 with record revenues of 6,790 billion yuan (about US$ 938 billion), now revised to 5,750 billion yuan (US$ 790 billion).

While important, celebrated as a "boom" by official statements, this result highlights the uncertainties that continue to hover over the country’s economy.

As expected, it is mainly city residents who travel for pleasure in the country. In 2024 they made 4.37 billion trips, up 16.3 per cent over 2023, while rural residents made 1.245 billion trips, an increase of 9.9 per cent.

Thanks to better transportation infrastructure, people can go beyond traditional destinations like Beijing, Shanghai or Xi'an; increasingly, hitherto little-known places are available to visitors in search of niche experiences.

Xinjiang, the homeland of Muslim Uyghurs, deserves a separate mention since Chinese authorities are pushing it hard as a tourist destination, part of their sinicisation policy.

With some breathtaking sites and cultural wonders, like the Tianshan Mountains, Sayram Lake, Jiaohe ruins, and the old city of Kashgar, Xinjiang had a record 300 million visitors in 2024.

Finally, China’s National Immigration Administration recently released 2024 foreign travel data,  showing that foreign visitors who entered the country without a visa made more than 20 million trips to China, more than double over 2023.

This is partly the result of China’s visa-free transit policy for short stays, now extended to 54 countries, Beijing’s main tool to boost foreign tourism, which was heavily penalised by the pandemic years.

• china
• tourism
• domestic travellers
• foreign visitors
• visa-free transit