cnbc_topnews

Tourism price wars threaten to dim a rare bright spot in China's consumer spending

📰 source: cnbc_topnews · 💼 business

china's post-covid tourism boom is fading faster than expected, with hilton now expecting revpar to fall by low single digits this year. its china revpar swung from 1.3% growth in q1 to a 2.2% fall in q2. across china, hotel revpar tumbled 6% year-on-year through late july, dragged by a 3 percentage point drop in occupancy and a 1% decline in daily rates. price wars are visible on trip.com, where a weekend night at a dali hilton resort runs $173 while nearby options are under $50. median one-night prices in popular spots like kashgar are just $28.

but the luxury end is holding up. hyatt reported u.s. visitors to china up 18% and european visitors up 24% in the past quarter, helped by visa-free policy. its greater china revpar rose 7.2% in q2, with ceo mark hoplamazian saying 'china luxury properties were up 11%... china is on fire.' overseas visitors still account for only 12-13% of total tourism spending. overall, consumers are spending less per trip as wage growth slows, and even this rare bright spot in china's retail economy is dimming.

why it matters: tourism was one of china's few consumer growth areas, now fading, with luxury and inbound travel the only bright spots.

source: cnbc_topnews
sentiment: -0.50 · impact: 0.50

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Surprise fall in US jobs last month as slow summer continues

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US strikes $1.2bn deal to pay German firm to halt offshore wind projects