China Domestic Tourism Back To Pre-pandemic Levels?

China’s domestic tourism did not just recover after COVID. It surpassed pre-pandemic levels and kept going. During the five-day May Day holiday in 2023 domestic trips rose by more than two thirds compared to the same period in 2019. Tourism revenue hit 148 billion yuan, a 128.9% increase from 2020. These are big numbers and they reflect a real change in how Chinese people think about travel inside their own country.

For businesses that want to reach Chinese consumers, whether you sell accommodation, food, experiences, or products, this domestic boom is as important as outbound tourism. Understanding what drove it and where it is going is the first step.

What the Recovery Actually Looked Like

Before the pandemic, China’s travel and tourism sector employed around 28.25 million people directly. Lockdowns hit hard. Revenue collapsed. Many small operators closed. But when restrictions lifted, the rebound was faster than most expected.

According to China’s Ministry of Cultural and Tourism (mct.gov.cn), domestic tourist trips during the 2023 May Day break rose 19% compared to the same period in 2019, not just compared to 2022. That means not a recovery to old levels but a genuine improvement over them. The China Tourism Academy predicted domestic tourist trips would reach 4.55 billion in 2023 alone, a 73% increase year-on-year.

Part of this was pent-up demand. Chinese consumers had saved more during restrictions and were ready to spend. But another part was a real shift in attitude: more people started appreciating what China itself had to offer as a travel destination.

What the Government Did to Push Recovery

The government was not passive. Several policies helped push the rebound:

• Discounted tickets to popular tourist attractions
• Cashback vouchers for hotel stays and travel packages booked within China
• Support for regional tourism campaigns highlighting less-known destinations
• Reduced rates on domestic flights through airline support programs
• Partnerships with online platforms to promote local destinations through content and ads

In Yunnan province for example, a “slow travel” campaign encouraged visitors to explore lesser-known spots like Nujiang Canyon and the Tengchong volcanic hot springs. The campaign worked. Tourists visited areas that had never seen much visitor traffic before.

New Traveler Preferences Post-Pandemic

The recovery did not just bring old habits back. It brought new ones. Three shifts stand out:

Outdoor and rural tourism: Chinese travelers who had been stuck in cities for two years wanted open space. Hainan Island saw nearly 250% more hotel bookings during the Labor Day holiday compared to the previous year. Nature, hiking, and eco-tourism started showing up in Ctrip search data as fast-growing categories.

Smaller cities and off-the-beaten-path destinations: Young travelers especially started looking beyond the obvious. Cities like Zibo (famous for its barbecue culture) and Guizhou province attracted huge attention on Xiaohongshu and Douyin, often driven by user content rather than official campaigns. This showed just how much social platforms shape where people go.

Shorter but more frequent trips: Rather than saving two weeks for one big trip, many Chinese consumers started taking four-day or five-day breaks several times a year. This created new demand for convenient destinations within a few hours by train or plane.

What Jon Wang Thinks About This Rebound

Jon Wang, analyst at CTA, tracks Chinese consumer travel behavior closely. He sees the domestic recovery as a signal for international brands too: “What happened in domestic tourism tells us a lot about what Chinese travelers value now. They want authenticity. They want nature. They want to share things on social media that look real, not just fancy. The same instincts apply when they travel abroad. Destinations that offer genuine local experiences and promote them well on Chinese platforms will win.”

He adds: “Social media is not just a communication tool anymore. It is literally where trips are born. A Douyin video of a mountain sunrise or a WeChat article about a village food market can create a travel trend overnight. Businesses that understand this, and invest in content for Chinese platforms, have a real advantage.”

Case Study: How a Yunnan Guesthouse Turned Viral Attention Into a Business

Liu Wei had been running a small guesthouse in Dali, Yunnan, for four years before the pandemic. The business was steady but never spectacular. After COVID restrictions lifted he saw an explosion of visitors to the area, but most stayed at the bigger, newer hotels. His twelve-room guesthouse was getting overlooked.

A friend suggested he start posting on Xiaohongshu. Liu Wei was skeptical. He was not a social media person. But he started anyway, posting simple photos of his courtyard in the morning light, short videos of the local food market nearby, and honest posts about daily life in Dali. No fancy editing, no professional photography. Just real things.

Three months after he started posting regularly, one of his photos got reshared widely. It showed breakfast in the courtyard with the old town’s white walls in the background. Simple image. It collected 34,000 saves on Xiaohongshu in one week. That week his booking inquiries tripled.

He followed up by creating a WeChat Official Account where he posted monthly stories about life in Dali and answered travel questions from followers. He also listed the guesthouse on Ctrip with a focus on the “authentic local experience” angle. Within six months occupancy went from 55% to 88%. Average booking value went up because guests were now staying longer, three nights instead of one or two.

By end of 2023 Liu Wei had a waiting list for peak season. He hired one part-time staff member and started offering cooking classes using local ingredients, which added another 15,000 yuan per month in revenue. The business he built in four normal years, he effectively doubled in one year through consistent, genuine social media presence and smart platform use.

The lesson is not complicated. Chinese travelers look for real stories on real platforms. If you show up honestly and consistently, the algorithm rewards you and so do the visitors.

Digital Technology as the Engine of Recovery

One of the clearest changes from the pandemic period is how fully Chinese consumers moved to digital tools for travel planning. Booking on apps became the default. WeChat marketing and social media discovery replaced traditional brochures and travel agents for most age groups under 50.

Businesses that invested in their digital presence during the recovery period gained ground quickly. Those that waited and relied on old channels fell behind. This pattern will not reverse. Chinese tourism, both domestic and outbound, runs on digital platforms. Building a presence on those platforms is not optional for brands that want to compete. Working with a Chinese digital marketing agency gives you the expertise to do this well from the start.

How CTA Can Help

CTA helps tourism brands and hospitality businesses reach Chinese travelers through the right digital channels. Our services include:

• Douyin (TikTok China) campaigns to show your destination to millions of Chinese travelers
• WeChat Official Account management to build a loyal audience and drive direct bookings
• Baidu SEO and PPC to appear in search results when Chinese tourists look for you
• RED (Xiaohongshu) influencer marketing to build credibility through real traveler content
• Chinese website design and localization to make your brand work inside China’s internet
• KOL and KOC partnerships to reach engaged travel communities at scale

About CTA

Chinese Tourists Agency is a Chinese digital marketing agency based in Shanghai, active since 2012. We work with tourism businesses, hotels, real estate companies, and luxury brands that want to reach Chinese consumers. Our team runs campaigns across Douyin, WeChat, Baidu, and RED, with deep knowledge of how Chinese travelers discover and book. Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow in the Chinese market.

Written by Claire, March 2026. Claire covers Chinese domestic tourism trends and digital marketing strategy at CTA Shanghai.