Labor Day travel data signals growing consumer confidence
Labor Day travel data suggests the US-China trade war has done little to dent consumer confidence, at least for now.
Per the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, during the five-day holiday (May 1-5):
- 314 million people traveled domestically, up 6.4% y/y
- Total tourism-related expenditure hit RMB 180.3 billion, up 8.0% y/y
In real terms, per capita spending rose 1.6% y/y, and increased 2.2% relative to 2019.
Notably, the number of foreign tourists surged 43.1% y/y, driven by Beijing's visa-free travel policy (Caixin).
Get smart: The modest bump in per capita expenditure relative to pre-COVID levels is hardly anything to shout about – especially considering the 2019 Labor Day holiday was one day shorter.
Get smarter: However, as we've previously discussed, the total number of travelers is a far more important metric than per capita expenditure.
- Based on this metric, consumer sentiment is slowly but surely moving in the right direction.
sources
Ministry of Culture and Tourism: 2025年“五一”假期文化和旅游市场情况
Gov.cn: “五一”假日国内旅游接待总人数1.95亿人次
Caixin: 五一”假期1089.6万人次出入境 同比增长28.7%