Chinese travellers' average spending per trip fell to a four-year low during this year's seven-day Golden Week holiday, dashing hopes that strong travel demand would spur a broader recovery in consumer spending.
Reuters – Chinese consumers instead opted for more overseas travel to take advantage of a longer travel period around the holiday. That trend, along with movie ticket sales falling to their lowest in 12 years during the period, will likely raise concerns in the government, which has sought to spur domestic spending to boost the overall economy.
Average spending per domestic trip during the holiday fell 1.9% to 893.92 yuan ($133.51) from 911.04 yuan a year earlier, according to Reuters calculations based on government data published on Friday. That was the lowest since 2022, when spending fell to 680.60 yuan during the most severe period of China's COVID-19 restrictions.
The National Day holiday is one of China's longest public breaks, and spending per trip is closely watched as a gauge of consumer confidence.
