China Dragon Boat Festival trips down 22.8% from pre-COVID levels -CCTV

A total of 140.47 million trips were made in China during the three-day Dragon Boat Festival, up 89.1% from a year earlier but down 22.8% from the pre-COVID levels of 2019, official broadcaster CCTV said on its website. Airborne trips totalled 5.34 million, surging 287% from a year earlier, but up just 3% from 2019, according to CCTV.

A total of 140.47 million trips were made in China during the three-day Dragon Boat Festival, up 89.1% from a year earlier but down 22.8% from the pre-COVID levels of 2019, official broadcaster CCTV said on its website. Tourism data during the June 22-24 holiday is being closely watched as a barometer of China's economic health, with Beijing readying fresh stimulus to revive a fading post-COVID recovery.

The number of railway trips jumped 150.2% from a year earlier to 43.26 million, CCTV reported, citing the Ministry of Transport. That's just 12.8% higher than during the same period in 2019, it said. Road travel rose 64.4% year-on-year to 89.34 million but was down 33.3% from the same period in pre-COVID 2019.

Trips using ships also fell sharply from 2019, down 43.6% to 2.53 million, though nearly doubling from a year ago. Airborne trips totalled 5.34 million, surging 287% from a year earlier, but up just 3% from 2019, according to CCTV.