For months, authorities in China have been advising citizens against trips to Wuhan, the birthplace of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Today they can’t keep them away.
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For Wuhan–not Beijing–currently tops China’s wish list of places to go this year. The sprawling city on the banks of the Yangtze River has shot to no.1 must-see destination in the country, up from eighth place last year. That’s according to a study from the Chinese Tourism Academy in Beijing. The findings come from a poll of 15,000 people, plus data from 20 million social media posts.
As Wuhan slowly gets back on its feet after the 11-week lockdown that ended on April 8, tourism may prove a salvation.
So is all this Wuhan-dreaming a question of dark tourism? (Trips to places linked with death and tragedy). Quite the opposite the research finds. The desire to go to China’s virus source–Corona Land–is apparently motivated by goodwill. Travelers want to help out with economic recovery in the region, says research director Dr Song Rui.
A bounty of cheap hotels and affordable travel deals is attracting particularly young and lower income earners to the river city researchers say. This group plans to take an average 4 trips by the end of the year, while the economic situation is favorable.
The aftermath of the virus on Chinese travel habits will favor Wuhan’s moment too.
People say they will be happier over coming months to stick with domestic attractions and short-distance trips says Song Rui. Ironically, Wuhan is among those places the Chinese perceive “as much safer” than destinations overseas. Now that the virus seems to have largely moved on.
After a fresh outbreak of half a dozen new infections last week, the city has launched on an ambitious campaign to test all 11 million residents. That hasn’t stopped people starting to let their hair down.