Movement Restrictions During China's Labor Day Golden Week... Consumption Freezes Further

Beijing Virtually Locked Down, "Do Not Enter or Exit During the Holiday"
230 Million Labor Day Travelers Last Year, 293 Trillion Won Spent on Airlines and Hotels

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] During the Labor Day holiday (April 30 to May 4), travel restrictions were recommended in Beijing, the capital of China.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Labor Day, along with National Day, is one of China's representative golden holidays. Due to the resurgence of COVID-19, the Labor Day holiday boom has disappeared, and it is expected to negatively impact China's domestic demand in the second quarter.

According to Chinese media such as Xinjingbao on the 19th, the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention advised the previous day that there is a risk of epidemic spread during the Labor Day holiday and recommended avoiding travel to other regions as much as possible.

Large-scale events such as offline meetings were also banned during the holiday. If absolutely necessary, prior approval from authorities must be obtained to clearly define responsibility later. The sale of package travel products (airfare + hotel + attraction tickets) was prohibited during the holiday.

Although this measure is in the form of a recommendation, frontline schools in Beijing are obtaining pledges from parents not to leave Beijing during the holiday.

Quarantine measures for non-residents entering Beijing are also being strengthened. Visitors must carry a nucleic acid test certificate obtained within 48 hours before arriving in Beijing and must voluntarily report to the local community within 12 hours of arrival. Dining with others within 7 days after arriving in Beijing is also prohibited.

This recommendation is essentially a lockdown measure, advising people neither to leave nor enter Beijing during the holiday. Chinese media reported that most cities in China are expected to implement similar measures during the Labor Day holiday.

Last year, the number of travelers in China during the Labor Day holiday reached a record high of 230 million. The amount of online (UnionPay) payments for flights and accommodations alone reached 1.5 trillion yuan (293 trillion won). With the Qingming Festival (April 3 to 5) and the Labor Day holiday boom both disappearing, the dominant view is that this will be an obstacle to China's economic growth rate in the second quarter.

Professor Chang Longshan of Shantou University in Guangdong Province said, "The Omicron virus is more than 10 times harder to control than Delta," and predicted, "The probability of an increase in domestic travelers during the Labor Day holiday is not high."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.