Earthquake Shakes Tourism Industry
The 8-magnitude earthquake that devastated Sichuan province on May 12 would seriously hamper tourism in affected regions in the short term.
Sichuan-bound excursions are among the most popular of the firm’s travel packages, generating about 10 percent of its total domestic travel revenue.
When the quake struck on May 12, 298 tourists were on Shanghai Spring International trips in the province, including 281 visitors from Shanghai and 17 from Shanxi province. They had all been safely returned home by May 21.
Many customers bound for other regions in China canceled their trips with the company after the quake. Zhang said part of the reason was that the natural disaster cast a “psychological shadow” over the entire nation.
The quake is the second disaster to negatively impact the country’s tourism industry this year after the worst blizzards to hit China in half a century wreaked havoc on the southern part of the country in February.
Prolonged cold weather put a chill on travelers’ enthusiasm during Spring Festival. The country’s tourism industry earned 39 billion Yuan during the Golden Week this year, 6.2 percent less than in 2007, CNTA figures show. Many popular tourist sites reported fewer visitors during the period, as weather and traffic concerns led many people to cancel travel plans.
China previously had three Golden Weeks a year – one during Lunar New Year, one starting from Labor Day on May 1, and one starting from National Day on October 1 – and these were the country’s peak travel times. However, the government shaved several days off the Labor Day Golden Week starting in 2008, substituting it with three new public holidays on the dates of traditional festivals.
Analysts said Sichuan’s local tourism industry’s agents would suffer greater losses than national tourism companies, such as Shanghai Spring International.
Tourism plays a fundamental role in the province’s economic development, accounting for more than 8 percent of its gross domestic product.
Popular destinations included Jiuzhaigou Valley, giant panda sanctuaries, and Emeishan Mountain.
But despite the recent setbacks, analysts and industry insiders remain confident in the Chinese travel industry’s long-term prospects.
The negative impact of natural disasters is temporary. Over the long term, China’s travel industry would still undergo fast growth driven by rising incomes. We would not change our long-term ratings of the industry.
