Charts of the Day: China’s Lunar New Year Tourism, Box Office Lag 2021

Tourism and movie box office numbers during China’s weeklong Lunar New Year holiday indicate weaker consumption compared to the festive period last year, despite hype from the ongoing Winter Olympics for snow-and-ice tourism activities.

During the seven-day holiday that started on Jan. 31, travelers in China made 251 million domestic trips, a 2% dip compared with the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The number of domestic trips this year is equivalent to 73.9% of the pre-pandemic level in 2019, the ministry’s data show. Revenues generated from domestic tourism reached 289.2 billion yuan ($45.4 billion), a 3.9% decline from 2021 and equivalent to 56.3% of the 2019 level, the ministry said.