China's domestic travel recovery marred by anti-spending 'special forces' holidaymakers

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If we recently discussed the 2016 AQ on tourism, note that high tourist arrivals do not automatically translates into the high spending the destination countries are looking forward to. This raises skepticism over the writer's claim that 'all destinations financially gain from tourism'.

Over nine days, she spent just 2,500 yuan (S$480).

On social media, the hashtag “special forces travel” – which refers to an aggressive assault on a tourist area to see and do as much as possible for as little money one can spend

China’s struggling property market, record high youth unemployment and broader worries over job stability, as well as government parsimony on wages, pensions and medical benefits, are keeping consumers cautious

One travel blogger, who posts on the Instagram-like social media app Xiaohongshu under the name of Icecube, said that he slept overnight in a public toilet to save money on a trip to Huangshan mountain in the southern Anhui province.