From 30th April, Beijing, the capital of China, removed self-isolation restriction to travellers who came from low-risk domestic areas. It was a significant positive signal one-day before the May Day holiday to the travel market. This resulted in a 15 times increase in the volume of air ticket searches in one hour. Let’s dive into the figures to understand the growth of consumer confidence within travel. Learn from the data of China’s travel restart after COVID-19
“When the lockdown was lifted, the first thing that people wanted to spend money on was eating out, and the second was travel.” shown in the Chinese consumer-sentiment survey of McKinsey & Company. Domestic consumer confidence increased by 60% over the past several weeks. The number of trips during the May Day holiday recovered to 47% of 2019.
Regional travels brought back traveller’s confidence in terms of safety. Travellers prefer to stay close to home by choosing regional destinations where they may travel to by driving or train. Midscale and economy hotels are more likely to rebound faster. As the Travel Sentiment Survey shows, the travel-recovery peak will likely come after September 2020 in China.
Travel behaviour has changed after the world pandemic. Travellers are now more cautious in terms of keeping themselves safe during their travels. Avoiding crowded tourist spots while outdoor attractions would be the most popular destinations for travellers in the future. Majority of travellers believe that their first leisure trip would be domestic and within their residing area. Group and guided tours have significantly declined in popularity.
What can we learn from this?
The path of recovery will be different for each country. We can see that people are eager to travel despite the differences between countries. What can we learn from the data of China’s travel restart after COVID-19?
- Domestic travel will return first.
- International travel will take more time to recover, especially if it involves flying. Countries that lack a large domestic market will take an even longer time to recover.
- Economy travel options will recover faster and outdoor or nature-related destinations will be more popular.
The optimisation of products and services is urgently needed. New cleaning protocols, social distancing, and self-service will not only protect the health of customers and staff but also help to restore consumer confidence. To be prepared for the early demand, travel-industry players must rethink their business strategy and prioritise their resources to the first-recovery market as quickly as possible.
Hoteliers need a recovery plan moving forward – here are 3 Practical Ways to Help Your Hotel Recover From COVID-19.
Book a free consultation with our hotel experts on how to use this data to optimise your post-COVID19 hotel’s revenue strategy.
