China's Lost National Day Boom Due to 'Zero-COVID'... Film and Tourism Industries in Tears

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] As the zero-COVID prevention measures prolong, the worsening consumer sentiment has led to the disappearance of the 'National Day' holiday boom in China. Not only movie theater sales but also demand for long-distance and long-term travel is sharply declining.

On the 2nd, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported that as people chose to stay home rather than go out during the National Day holiday, China's domestic box office revenue sharply dropped on the first day of the holiday. According to the ticketing platform Maoyan, the domestic box office revenue on the first day of the holiday, October 1st, was 262.5 million yuan (approximately 52.964 billion KRW), significantly down from 630 million yuan last year. Compared to 815.5 million yuan in 2019 before the pandemic and 744.8 million yuan in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, it is about one-third of those figures.

The National Day holiday, which runs from October 1st to 7th this year, has traditionally been a period when millions of Chinese travel nationwide and is considered the 'peak season' with the highest domestic movie sales. According to Maoyan data, the movie "Home Coming," depicting a national evacuation operation in a fictional North African country during a war outbreak, accounted for nearly 70% of the box office revenue on the 1st.

Two other patriotic action films, "Ordinary Hero" and "Steel Will," ranked 2nd and 8th respectively, and half of the top eight were animations. Online, soaring movie ticket prices and cinema closures were cited as reasons for the film industry's slump.

The travel industry is no different. China has strengthened COVID-19 related restrictions on domestic travel until the end of this month ahead of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party scheduled for the 16th. The industry reports that potential tourists are mainly taking short-distance, short-term trips near their residential areas to avoid uncertainties that may arise after traveling.

The National Health Commission has urged people to stay put and minimize intercity travel during the week-long National Day holiday to prevent the spread of COVID-19. According to China Railway Group data, the number of railway passengers on the first day of the holiday was 9.7 million, significantly down from 16 million on the same day last year. Ministry of Transport data shows that road travelers on that day were 31 million, a 33.5% decrease compared to last year.

Generally, short trips, which involve less spending on travel, accommodation, and other items compared to long-distance travel, are conducted individually without travel agency assistance and thus contribute relatively less to tourism industry revenue. Famous tourist spots nationwide such as Zhangjiajie Forest Park in Hunan, Laoshan in Shandong, and Wuyi Mountain in Fujian Province have decided to offer free admission to visitors until the end of the year, but there are limitations in attracting long-distance travelers.