TouristsvisittheHongyadongtouristareainChongqingonApril30,2023.[Photo/VCG]

ChinarecentlyenjoyeditsMayDay,orLabourDay,publicholiday,whichsawaboomindomestictourismandtravel.AccordingtotheMinistryofTransportdata,tourism"couldhitover270milliontrips,oradailyaverageof54.04million,up162.9%fromayearago"and"up464.4%"fromthepreviousyear.

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SocialmediawasfilledwithvideosandphotosshowingChina"smajorsitesteemingwithtourists,includingtheGreatWall,theBundinShanghai,aswellastheChaotianmenBridgeinChongqing.Therewerereportsthatwithhotelscompletelybookedup,somepeopleresortedtosleepingontrainsorincafesorrestaurants.Butthethemewasnonethelessthesame:ChinesepeoplearereclaimingtheirloveoftravelafteryearsofCOVID,andthesheernumberoftouristsrepresentsaboonforChina"seconomyandservices.

OneofthebiggestformulastoChina"sfuturesuccessisthedevelopmentofconsumerism,asopposedtolow-endmanufacturing.China"shouseholddisposableincomestoodat36,883yuan(about$5,487)in2022,accordingtotheNationalBureauofStatistics.Thisdevelopment,combinedwiththecountry"spopulation,hastransformedChinaintotheworld"slargestandmostlucrativeconsumermarket.Nomajorbrandintheworldcanbetakenseriouslyorbetruly"global"ifitdoesnothaveoperationsinChina.

Tourism,ofcourse,isabigpartofconsumerism.AsChina"sairlines,tourcompanies,andhotelindustriesbenefit,sodoitsretailers,services,andrestaurants.FortheLabourDayholiday,IpersonallytraveledtotheHongKongSpecialAdministrativeRegion.AccordingtotheSouthChinaMorningPost,over310,000touristsfromthemainlandalsotraveledtothecityduringthisperiod.Populartouristsitesaroundtheareawerebustlingwithpeople,whilethenewlyopenedK11ArtMallinKowloon,whichspecializesinluxurybrands,wasbooming,asjustoneexample.Withthisbeingthelargesttouristintakethecityhashadsincecoronavirusrestrictionswerelifted,thesecrowdsarecriticaltoHongKong"sownrecovery.

AlthoughChina"smanufacturingiscontinuingtofaceheadwindsduetoglobaluncertaintiesanddiminishinggrowthinWesterncountries,servicesandtourismarenonethelesscarryingthecountryforwardandpaintinganoptimisticpicture.Becauseofthis,manyinternationaleconomistgroupsareoptimisticaboutChina"sprospectsforGDPgrowthin2023.Afteranofficialgrowthrateof4.5%inthefirstquarter,itisnowforecastthatitwillgrow6%thisyear.Inaddition,"Chinawillcontribute34.9%oftheglobalgrowth,"accordingtotheIMF,beingthelargestsinglecountrytodoso,followedbyIndiaat15.4%.Apartfromthesetwocountries,noothermajoreconomyisshowingmeaningfulgrowth.

Assuch,China"seconomyhasnotonlyreboundedbutisagloballeaderandanexusofglobaloptimismamidstacontinuallychallenginginternationalenvironment.ThispoursscornonthelogicofWesternpoliticiansandcommentatorswhohavecontinuallyurged"decoupling"or"reducingdependence"ontheChineseeconomybecause,ifitwerenotforChina,whatsituationwouldtheglobaleconomybein?WhiletheWesthascontinuallyusedshort-termeconomicpoliciesforquickgain,whichhaveincludedoverloadingstimulusandthenhikingupinterestratesasinflationsurged,crushinggrowth,China"spolicieshavebeenconservativeandprudent,seeingstabilityasitsbestbetasopposedtoashort-lived"adrenalinerush."

Thus,thesurgeoftourismovertheMayDayholidaydemonstratestherisingoptimism,resilience,andstrengthoftheChineseeconomy,evenastheworldfaltersamidstitschallenges.Thebiggestholidayoftheyearsofarhaswellandtrulygottheballrolling,indicatingthatthesecondquarterislikelytobefarbetterthanthefirstasthebonanzainspendingripplesthroughtheeconomy.

TomFowdyisaBritishpoliticalandinternationalrelationsanalystandagraduateofDurhamandOxforduniversities.Formoreinformationpleasevisit:

http://m.china.org.cn/opinion/TomFowdy.htm

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