Analysis: Property Slump, Weak Confidence Loom Over Stellar China Lunar New Year Travel Data

Robust travel data from this year’s Lunar New Year holiday have offered hopeful signs of a recovery in household consumption in China, but some analysts are cautioning against breaking out the champagne too early, citing a prolonged property slump and low consumer confidence among the issues dragging on the world’s second-largest economy.

Both domestic travel and spending surpassed 2019 levels during the eight-day holiday. Travelers made around 474 million trips from Feb. 10 to Feb. 17, up 19% from the same period of 2019 and a 34.3% jump from last year, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Total tourism spending reached 632.7 billion yuan ($88 billion), up 7.7% from 2019 levels and 47.3% on last year.