HONG KONG—China's economic slowdown has had little impact on demand for air travel, particularly during Golden Week, when more than 7.7 million passengers took to the air during the national holiday at home and abroad.
The number of passengers flying during the seven-day Golden Week vacation which began on Oct. 1—National Day—exceeded the 7.2-million-passenger estimate by China's aviation regulator. The number also was up 15.8% from a year earlier, indicating strong demand despite a new law that forbids travel agencies from offering cut-rate package tours to boost travel demand.
Many Chinese travel agencies had been selling travel packages at narrow margins or even at a loss, hoping that commissions earned from tourists shopping at assigned retailers—and additional fees for tourist destinations during the trip—could subsidize a key part of their costs.
The nation's air-travel market is booming despite softening economic growth and a frugality campaign spearheaded by Chinese President Xi Jinping that has weighed on sales of first- and business-class services.
However, a pickup in air-traffic demand in China, home to the world's fastest-growing tourism market, emerged at the start of the third quarter as the leisure-travel industry entered its traditional peak season during the summer holiday from July.
China Eastern Airlines Corp., one state carrier that has been hit hard by lingering political tensions between China and Japan, recorded improving traffic volume in July and August, with an average load factor, or proportion of seats filled, of 82.70% in August, the highest in 2013 so far.
Chinese flag carrier Air China Ltd. transported 8.3% more passengers, or 7.41 million, in August.
Flights to popular domestic tourist spots such as the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, and Haikou and Sanya on China's resort island of Hainan recorded a load factor of almost 90%, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on its website Tuesday. Meanwhile, the load factor on flights to airports in the nation's five major cities—Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenzhen--have stayed at more than 85% during the weeklong holiday.
According to preliminary estimates, 76,000 flights were made during the Golden Week holiday, of which Chinese airlines operated a combined 55,000 flights, up 12.8% from a year earlier.
Source: Wall Street Journal by Joanne Chiu | Photo: Bloomberg
from China Travel & Tourism News http://www.chinatraveltourismnews.com/
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