Omicron restrictions dampen demand for Chinese New Year travel: ForwardKeys

A report from travel analyst ForwardKeys released in January shows that flight bookings in China for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday period are well ahead of last year but -65.9% down on pre-pandemic levels. The data, which covers bookings made to 21 January, covers the travel period from 24 January to 17 February. ForwardKeys said that recent lockdowns in China, imposed in response to outbreaks of the Omicron strain of COVID-19, have held back demand for travel, although the picture improved through January. Around ten days earlier, forward bookings were -75% down on 2019. Among the bright spots for bookings are ‘sun and sport’ destinations within China, noted the travel analyst.

Among the top 15 most booked destinations for the period, the most resilient are Changchun, at 52% of pre-pandemic levels; Shenyang 49%; Chongqing, 48%; Chengdu, 47%; Sanya, 46% and Haikou, 43%. Sanya and Haikou have benefited from Hainan’s popularity as a resort island at a time when Mainland Chinese cannot travel internationally, and the offshore duty free policies that have fuelled a surge in travel shopping. As reported, Hainan island’s offshore duty free stores generated sales of CNY60.17 billion (US$9.47 billion) in 2021, an +84% increase year-on-year. Of the other destinations, Changchun, Shenyang and Harbin are among those that serve winter sports resorts; Harbin remains in the top 15 even though it was affected by a COVID-19 outbreak as recently as December. The other destinations, including Chengdu, Chongqing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Nanjing, are all popular for city sightseeing.

With shortened lead times for travel bookings recently, ForwardKeys said that the picture improved through the month. Recently around 60% of bookings on Chinese domestic flights were made within four days of departure. ForwardKeys VP Sales – APAC Bing Han Kee said: “Throughout 2021, travel has bounced back strongly as soon as restrictions are lifted, with ever shorter lead times. I am also impressed by the strongly growing enthusiasm for winter sports, which I am sure has been encouraged by publicity surrounding the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing.”