Wanderlust will spark recovery
Tourism industry cites consumer demand and supportive policy measures as key factors in securing the sector's post-pandemic growth.
Despite remaining challenges from the pandemic fallout, domestic tourism players are seeing light at the end of the tunnel, especially with a recently announced support policy.
In January, Chen Xianghong appealed for more government support for the tourism industry and, a month later, he got his wish.
Chen was chair of a service provider for resources analysis, planning and landscaping design for domestic tourist attractions.
He considers it of utmost importance for tourism players to continue persevering after two years of struggle amid the pandemic, which has prompted authorities to extend aid to the industry.
"I believe the tourism industry will rebound to even greater heights after the pandemic situation gets better," Chen says.
While he is asking for more confidence in the industry, in mid-February, the National Development and Reform Commission, along with several other government departments, released measures to shore up support for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the sector.
The NDRC outlines 43 policy measures to provide fiscal and logistical support for service industry businesses that have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic.
The policy covers the extension of tax reductions and exemptions, fiscal support measures, and help with implementing COVID-19 prevention measures.
Tourism has seen a significant impact from the pandemic.
About 251 million trips were made during the 2022 Lunar New Year holiday, one of the country's busiest travel seasons, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. It was a 2 percent decrease from 2020, despite a recovery in domestic travel in 2021.
With the pandemic raging abroad, international travel has almost ground to a complete halt.
The China Tourism Academy recently lowered its tourism development expectations for 2022 and pointed out that the pandemic will still be the most uncertain factor affecting tourism recovery.
In the academy's 2022 tourism development forecast report, the domestic tourism industry is expected to recover to 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
The domestic tourism market is likely to welcome 3.98 billion traveler visits, up 16 percent from last year, and domestic tourism income will grow 27 percent year-on-year to 3.8 trillion yuan ($600 billion), according to the report.
The number of inbound and outbound tourists in 2022 is expected to grow 20 percent year-on-year, recovering to 20-30 percent of the 2019 level.