China's consumption recovery off to a strong start in 2023: Fitch

People shop at Haikou Riyue Plaza Duty Free Shop in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Jan. 25, 2023. Tourists went shopping in Hainan, a major tourist destination for visitors in winter, during the Spring Festival holiday. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- China's consumption sector posted a strong recovery in early 2023, with the high-end and mid to high-end discretionary service sectors performing impressively, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.

China's offline consumer service sectors, including tourism, movies and catering, that were hit severely by the COVID-19 epidemic, saw a strong rebound in demand during the Spring Festival holiday, it said.

Domestic tourist trips recovered to around 90 percent of the 2019 level, while tourism spending was at 73 percent due to ticket discounts.

China's box office achieved the second-highest take on record, and the number of cinema visits was only slightly below the 2019 level, said Fitch Ratings. Catering dine-in consumption grew by 15.4 percent year on year during the holiday, with average restaurant spending up by 10.8 percent, Fitch Ratings revealed, citing data from the Ministry of Commerce.

Fitch Ratings expected domestic demand for catering, tourism, beauty services, and cultural and entertainment activities to recover steadily in 2023.