One year ago, the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the first case of Covid-19 was identified, reopened after almost three months of lockdown. Ever since, the situation has only improved in the capital of the Hubei province, seeing as no new cases have been registered since May last year.
In this context, the city is experiencing a very impressive tourism rebound, having recovered very well after the difficult months of 2020. A clear indication of this success is data from the Spring Festival and Qingming Festival holidays.
Impressive Numbers
Throughout the Spring Festival Wuhan was visited by almost 7 million people (6.92 million). This is very impressive and according to the Chinese authorities, it ranked the city among the four most popular destinations in the country. During the Qingming Festival, 11.7 million tourists visited Wuhan. This is about 60 % of the total amount of tourists from the holiday in 2019.
Generally, the city ranked among the top 10 destinations in China. Moreover, the inhabitants of Wuhan ranked among the top 10 of most-eager to travel populations. The Yellow Crane Tower and Wuhan Ocean Park were some of the top spots of Central China during the holiday.
It must also be noted that Wuhan is not only popular physically, given a large number of visitors, but also virtually. Chinese travel giant Ctrip confirmed this, as the agency registered increased interest in Wuhan on their platform.
Chinese Tourism Close to Complete Comeback
It is not only Wuhan that is registering a tourism comeback. The entire country is flourishing. During the Qingming Festival, 102 million trips were made by Chinese tourists. This is about 94.5 % of the number of trips in 2019, meaning that the industry in the country is approaching pre-pandemic levels.
Domestic flights and hotel reservations even grew compared to the data from the same holiday in 2019. Tourism revenue reached almost $ 4.2 billion during the Qingming Festival, which is three times more than last year.