May Day travel rush mirrors China's speedy recovery from COVID-19

Holiday economy

Describing China's May Day holiday as "a shot in the arm for domestic tourism," the SCMP reported on Sunday that "the five-day break is set to be a fillip for local economies that have been hard hit by the health crisis."

As a "record-breaking wave of Chinese tourists" are hitting the road for a May Day trip, the travel frenzy is "giving China's economy a powerful short-term boost," Reuters said in a recent report.

That is "in stark contrast to the rest of the world where many countries are still struggling to bring the virus under control, let alone open up domestic or even international travel," the report added.

On Saturday, the Wuhan Strawberry Music Festival was staged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, attracting thousands of people.

"It has not been easy to get to where we are today ... I feel very excited to be here," Reuters quoted Gao Yuchen, a 23-year-old Wuhan resident who attended the event, as saying.

The temporary rise in prices of tourism services and expected traffic congestion pushed many people to stay home for the holiday, although that doesn't mean they aren't spending.

The second "May 5" shopping festival kicked off in Shanghai on Saturday, with real-time consumer payout data from China UnionPay, Alipay and Tencent Pay -- all Chinese payment platforms -- showing that consumers forked out over $2.67 billion in the first 24 hours.

According to China's State Post Bureau, the country's postal industry delivered over 260 million parcels on Saturday, up nearly 30 percent year-on-year, mirroring the positive momentum of China's economic recovery, particularly in consumption.