For China’s battered consumer stocks, National Day holiday offers hopes of a comeback
Initial data on travel bookings has painted a rosy picture for consumer spending in this year’s October golden week holidayThe eight-day break will offer clues on the progress of post-Covid recovery after a flurry of government supportive measuresChina stock marketZhang Shidongin ShanghaiPublished: 10:00am, 2 Oct, 2023Why you can trust SCMP
Underperforming Chinese consumer stocks are likely to get a boost from the October “golden week”, which is expected to see a big boom in travel and leisure activities.
The mainland railway authority has forecast that local tourists would make 190 million trips during the eight-day national break that combines the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday this year, up 38 per cent from 2019, based on initial ticket booking numbers.
Data from Trip.com Group, the nation’s largest online travel agency, showed that outbound travel bookings surged by almost 20-fold from the same holiday a year earlier, while reservations tied to domestic travel rose by more than four times.
Tourism industry performance during the golden week is seen as a barometer of China’s consumption activities, which have been on decline this year as families tighten their purse strings due to shrinking disposal incomes.