Despite Covid, Beijing Remains a Tourism Powerhouse... And is Projected to Get Stronger

Despite the setback caused by three years of Covid-related restrictions, Beijing remains a tourism powerhouse—and could soon become the world’s "most powerful" city for tourism, according to a report by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

First off, what does it mean to be "most powerful"? According to the WTTC, the term "power" refers to the overall economic value of tourism to a city, namely its contribution to GDP and employment.

Beijing currently stands at second place in the WTTC’s rankings, with a travel and tourism sector worth nearly USD 33 billion in 2022, while Paris is number one with a tourism sector worth USD 36 billion last year. This is predicted to change by 2032, though, when Beijing's travel and tourism sector is expected to more than double to around USD 77 billion.

But wait a minute, how can this be, considering China is only just reopening to the outside world and international tourists aren't even allowed in yet? Well, the answer lies not just in domestic tourism figures, but also in spending on tourism infrastructure.

Data published by Chinese travel site Ctrip in December 2022 found that Beijing was the second most popular city for domestic tourists, right behind Shanghai. In spite of an uptick in popularity of Southern destinations over the recent Spring Festival holiday, the capital is still ranked in the top ten domestic travel destinations by Ctrip. In fact, Beijing recorded over 7 million visits to tourist and cultural spots over the holiday, an increase of 88 percent over the same number in 2019.

Let's also not forget that Beijing is home to a relatively brand new world-class theme park, Universal Studios, whose second-phase construction is currently underway, and the city has just finished a massive winter sports facilities upgrade for the 2022 Winter Games. Alongside those come the requisite investment in new hotels and transport infrastructure.

As for the future, Beijing is mid-way through a five-year plan to improve its tourism sector from 2021-2025, with priority to be given to improved infrastructure, increased consumption, and development of new business models, according to a 2021 report by China Daily.

Beijing is by no means the only Chinese city expected to rise in the power rankings. Shanghai is also on par for breakneck growth, with its current travel and tourism sector worth nearly USD 30 billion predicted to more than double to almost USD 71 billion by 2032, putting it at number two behind Beijing. The cities are expected to be followed by Guangzhou and Macao SAR at sixth and eighth place, respectively.

Despite its status as a tourism powerhouse, however, Beijing doesn't even hit the current top ten in international tourist spending, which again is a byproduct of the now-defunct Covid Zero policy.

While WTTC is bullish on the eventual return of international tourists to Beijing, others are not so optimistic. The Centre for Aviation wonders whether the WTTC is taking into account the potential for initial reluctance by Western tourists to travel to China in the wake of Covid.

With only the 24/72/144-hour visa-free transit policy and port visas back but tourist visas still suspended, it remains to be seen if and when international tourists will begin to pour back into Beijing, but it appears that the city will be prepared for them when the floodgates open.

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