Travel bookings in China have recovered to pre-pandemic levels after being suppressed last year by zero-COVID policies, and are set to boom for the upcoming May Day holiday, according to data from popular booking apps.

Travel and restaurant booking app Meituan said its bookings for the upcoming May Day holiday from April 29-May 3 had reached a five-year high by the start of this week.

Domestic trips made during the holiday in 2021 reached 230 million, a record high, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. But the number dropped 43% to 160 million last year.

“The backlog of consumer travel demand since February is expected to be released during May Day holiday. Major domestic tourist cities and vacation destinations are expected to benefit from this,” said Fang Zeqian, an industry analyst at Trip.com.

The app data is a bright spot for the consumer industry which is still struggling to recover as people tighten their budgets due to worries over the slowing economy and employment.

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