Chinese Spent Less on Domestic Tourism in 2021 Than Before the Pandemic

China’s tourism sector has struggled to recover from Covid-19, as revenue from domestic travel in 2021 was still just half that of pre-pandemic 2019, official data show.

The sluggish recovery reflects the negative effect of continuing disruptions to China’s economy, as the country’s strict “zero-tolerance” strategy to contain sporadic outbreaks undermined in-person consumer spending such as tourism and eating out.