China’s consumption has a new, fast-growing driver: local tourists

After a blockbuster first half, all eyes will be on how domestic tourism sustains the momentum through the autumn and ‘golden week’ breaks In the first half of this year, leisure travel within China exploded. As the summer travel season builds towards the Mid-Autumn Festival and the “golden week” that follows National Day on October 1, domestic travel has emerged as one of China’s most important, if underappreciated, drivers of consumption and growth. Inbound tourism, by comparison, only approached pre-pandemic levels in 2024, when arrivals recovered to 97.2 per cent of the 2019 count and spending to 93.5 per cent. For investors tracking China’s consumer confidence, the domestic traveller is the one to watch.

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