China Reports Over 1.5 Billion May Day Trips

China's transport ministry expects approximately 1.5 billion cross-regional trips during the upcoming May Day holiday. Road trips are projected to account for nearly 92% of all travel, while rail accounts for approximately 8% and air travel for less than 1%. Rail travel is expected to make up approximately 8% of trips, while air travel accounts for under 1%. China's Ministry of Transport expects highway traffic to reach 70 million vehicle trips today, marking a new single-day record for the May Day holiday. The increase in air travel share to 7.4% from 3.6% a year ago is attributed to the energy crisis sparked by the US-Iran War, which has made some low-cost airline flights unprofitable due to high oil prices. More than 1.5 billion trips are forecast over the upcoming five-day May Day holiday break. Higher fuel costs are driving domestic demand as overseas travel becomes more expensive. This shift supports Beijing's efforts to boost consumption during an economic slowdown and period of stagnant wage growth. China's Ministry of Transport reported that from May 1st to 4th, the total cross-regional personnel flow across the country was expected to exceed 1.5 billion person-times. This averages over 300 million person-times daily, setting a new historical record for the same period. Data from the Ministry of Commerce showed that during the same period, consumer vitality continued to be released, with major business districts experiencing high foot traffic. 78 monitored pedestrian street business districts saw a year-on-year increase of 5.0% in customer traffic and 100% in turnover.