In China, this Friday, September 29, is the start of the so-called “golden” holiday week. Six months after the release of zero Covid measures, if on the one hand reservations abroad have jumped by 20%, on the other hand, many will stay at home.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Beijing,Stéphane Lagarde
In the courtyard of this high school on the third ring road of the Chinese capital, students play sports to music. On the eve of the October 1st holiday, many already have their minds elsewhere. Like many of his classmates, this student dreams of setting sail. For him, it will be Germany. Others will go a little further south.
“ For National Day, many of my friends are going to France or Italy this year. Some will even take two weeks and they have used family problems as an excuse to extend their leave and have fun in Europe », says this student.
Not far from the high school student, a brand new visa center is located in the basement of a shopping center. Electric blue jogging pants, sequinned t-shirt and large sunglasses, this sixty-year-old refuses to look her age. She leaves with a friend: “ We are ready to leave ! We are going to visit France, Italy and Switzerland. This is a group trip through a travel agency. And today, we came to the visa center to register our fingerprints. We booked 10 days ago. »
Higher average cost of travel
The good carbon resolutions will be for later. On a large panel at the entrance, around twenty countries are displayed. Singapore, Australia and Thailand are among the bestsellers again this year. Shopping or beaches, these destinations are recording an increase of more than 20%, this ticket reseller tells us:
“ There has been a huge demand for holidays abroad since the reopening. During the summer, it was more students. Today, it’s everyone. Unable to get a visa appointment. Must wait. Ticket prices will soon come down. »
For now, tickets remain expensive, with the average cost of group travel 30% higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic. The tour operator Trip.com claims to have regained 60% of its pre-pandemic level.
With the slowdown in the economy, the majority of Chinese are reluctant to spend wildly. Many will therefore stay at home or travel within the country. The amount of their spending will be an indicator eagerly awaited by analysts.