The country’s offline consumer service sectors saw a strong rebound in demand during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday in late January, said Fitch Ratings. — Reuters
BEIJING: China’s economic recovery is on the right track and the recovery of consumption of services has gotten off to a strong start, according to experts at foreign institutions.
The country’s offline consumer service sectors like tourism, movies and catering, which were severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, saw a strong rebound in demand during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday in late January, said Fitch Ratings.
Domestic tourist trips during the holiday jumped 23.1% year-on-year, recovering to around 90% of the pre-pandemic level during the same period of 2019, while tourism spending rose 30% year-on-year.
Cinema box-office receipts achieved the second-highest take on record, and the number of tickets sold was only slightly below the 2019 level, according to official figures.
National retail and catering revenues reported by key enterprises increased 6.8% year-on-year.
Dine-in consumption at restaurants and eateries grew strongly by 15.4% year-on-year, with average restaurant spending up 10.8%, according to the commerce ministry.
“The extent of pent-up demand release for offline discretionary consumer services exceeded our expectations modestly, due to the rate of Covid-19 infections nationwide peaking faster than expected. We expect demand for catering, tourism, beauty services, cultural (offerings) and entertainment to recover steadily in 2023, barring a new wave of large-scale infections,” said Fitch Ratings.
Darius Tang, associate director of corporates at Fitch Bohua, a subsidiary of Fitch Ratings, said: “The decisive factor of China’s economic growth in 2023 is the degree of consumption recovery, which depends on the strength of the stimulus policies and how Covid-19 would evolve.” — China Daily/ANN
