Domestic tourism market turning around since June

Domestic tourism experienced a downturn in the first half of 2022 because of sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks, but the market is growing since June, according to reports the China Tourism Academy released on Friday.

The tourism market began shrinking in January, but the sluggish performance has been reversed since June, with the number of travelers recovering to 60 percent of what it was in the same period during previous years. It is expected to rebound further in July, the reports said.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism released the overall data of domestic tourism in the first half of this year. From January to June, travelers made about 1.46 billion domestic visits, 22.2 percent below what it was in the same period last year.

Figures for the second quarter fell further than that in the first three months. The ministry said that travelers made about 830 million visits from January to March, a year-on-year decrease of 19 percent, while the decline reached 26.2 percent in the second quarter with only 625 million trips made by travelers over the three months from April to June.

Revenue generated in the first half of the year also saw a decrease of 28.2 percent year-on-year, with about 1.17 trillion yuan ($173 billion) generated over the period.