Landmark hotel has reason to celebrate

SHANGHAI — With the optimization of the country's COVID-19 response policies, Shanghai's legendary Fairmont Peace Hotel, a cherished landmark for almost a century, felt the Spring Festival vibe back in the air.

At the end of Nanjing Road and a stone's throw from the Bund sits Fairmont Peace Hotel.

As people celebrated the Year of the Rabbit with strong consumer sentiments last month, the hotel found itself basking in a festive hustle and bustle.

The center of its hall featured dozens of dough artworks in the shape of lions and rabbits, giving guests a special welcome.

Thanks to the optimization of the COVID-19 response policies, the sales of the hotel last month increased by 50 percent compared with the same period last year, says George Wee, general manager of Fairmont Peace Hotel.

Following China's downgrading of its COVID-19 management, unleashed consumer demand has been evident across the country.

"Now we are super busy. All of our 270 rooms and 38 suites were booked during the Spring Festival holiday and our restaurants were packed every day for lunch and dinner from the start to the end of the holiday," he says.

Wee expects that this year's market performance will exceed the 2019 level, as the increase in travel and consumption had given a strong signal that the country's economy will see robust recovery this year.

"Taking this as a starting point, we have every reason to believe that the pent-up demand will be there and confidence in China's consumption potential will return rapidly," he says, adding that the hotel has a great team ready to make guests feel special when they come back to Shanghai.

The experience of the hotel vividly shows the regained vitality of the consumer market in China.

During the Spring Festival holiday, Shanghai was among the most popular destinations.

A total of 4.12 million visits were made to the city's major tourist attractions, which recovered to about 90 percent of the same period before the pandemic.

According to the State Taxation Administration, the sales revenue of China's consumption-related sectors during the weeklong holiday this year went up 12.2 percent from last year, and saw an average annual growth of 12.4 percent during this period compared with the Spring Festival holiday in 2019.

Expecting 5.5 percent GDP growth for China this year, Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking, believes that tourism recovery will be a very important prologue to China's economic performance.