**COVID-19‘s Impact on China‘s Tourism Industry**245

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on global tourism, and China has been no exception. As the origin of the virus, China was the first country to impose strict travel restrictions, which effectively halted both inbound and outbound tourism.

According to the China Tourism Academy, the sector lost an estimated 290 billion yuan ($44 billion) in revenue during the first quarter of 2020. This included losses from transportation, accommodation,餐饮, and entertainment. The impact was particularly severe on small and medium-sized businesses, which account for a large proportion of the tourism industry in China.

Inbound tourism, which accounted for 12% of China's GDP in 2019, has been particularly hard hit. China received 145 million visitors in 2019, but this number plummeted to just 2.3 million in 2020, a decline of over 98%. The main source of inbound tourists, South Korea, saw a 99% drop in visitors, while the US and Europe experienced similar declines.

Outbound tourism has also been severely impacted. In 2019, 170 million Chinese tourists traveled abroad, but this number dropped to just 16 million in 2020, a decline of over 90%. The most popular destinations for Chinese tourists, such as Thailand, Japan, and the US, experienced significant declines in tourist arrivals.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only had a direct impact on the tourism industry but has also had knock-on effects on other sectors of the economy. For example, the decline in tourism has led to a decrease in demand for goods and services produced by tourism-related businesses, such as souvenirs, handicrafts, and agricultural products.

The Chinese government has taken several measures to support the tourism industry during the pandemic. These measures include providing financial assistance to businesses, waiving taxes, and implementing subsidies for domestic travel. However, it is unclear how quickly the industry will recover from the pandemic, given the ongoing travel restrictions and the slow pace of vaccination in many countries.

The pandemic has had a profound impact on the tourism industry in China and around the world. It is likely that the industry will take several years to fully recover, and it is unclear what the long-term impact of the pandemic will be on the way people travel.

2024-10-22

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