China’s Coastal Tourism Economic Development: The COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts and Sustainability Implications

Abstract

China's coastal tourism economy has maintained rapid growth in recent years, however costal tourism-related economic activities have been greatly suffered from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic since earlier 2020. This paper reviews the development of China's coastal tourism economy for the period of 2014 to 2020. According to official data from China’s government, the total production value of China's coastal tourism economy increased from RMB 888.2 billion in 2014 to RMB 1,808.6 billion in 2019, thus contributing to about 20 percent of the gross marine product or 50% of the main marine industry. By the end of 2020, China's coastal tourism industry had achieved an added value of RMB 1,392.4 billion, accounting for about 17 percent of the gross marine product or 47 percent of the main marine industry, a decrease of 416.2 billion yuan or 23.01% year-on-year due to the impact of pandemic. The implications for the sustainability of China's coastal tourism economy are presented.