Her first big vacation China in 2023 offer very superficial relief for investors. According to ticket supplier Maoyan Entertainment, movie ticket sales during the Lunar New Year holiday week surpassed last year’s level to nearly $900 million.

The tourism industry is also recovering. The return of moviegoers and vacationers has allayed some concerns about the lingering economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Officials abruptly lifted restrictions in December, followed by a spike in cases, but it is now reported that hospitalizations due to the virus peaked on January 5.

Official government data recorded 35 million passenger traffic on Wednesday last week alone, up 73% from 2022. Cinema operators earned the most. The IMAX subsidiary in China, for example, received 42% more than in the same period last year in the first four days of the Chinese New Year.

However, three years of coronavirus lockdowns have hurt household balance sheets, eroded confidence and contributed to an unwillingness to take on investment risk. Growth in the average disposable income of urban Chinese slowed to 2% last year from 7% in 2021, and while the wealthy are largely unaffected, there are also signs they are considering emigrating.

Retail sales, a key indicator of the strength of consumption, continue to fall, falling 1.8% in December. And the average growth rate has eased after a strong recovery in 2021, when life in China has largely returned to normal. Of course, the number of trips is still 40% below the level of 2019, and consumers have become more frugal.

Passenger car sales are down 21% from the same holiday period last year, according to analysts at Nomura, and real estate continues to suffer hard. Many cinemas resorted to price cuts to increase attendance. And some mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong say luxury prices are uncompetitive compared to Hainan, the duty-free mecca.

Multinationals expecting a dramatic improvement and higher costs for operators and consumers in China are likely to be disappointed. On the other hand, however, the leaders of the major central banks of the powerful economies, who were terrified that the restart of the Chinese economy would lead to even higher global inflation, seemed relieved.

Chinese New Year consumers showed their enjoyment of the holiday. Despite this, there was little sign that they were spending wildly in “avenge” for a period of quarantine and bans. In conclusion, there are many reasons for consumers affected by virus restrictions to avoid cost overruns in the near future.