This Chinese province set a 9% GDP target — but then it locked down

cnbc.com:

BEIJING — China's tourist-heavy province of Hainan is falling further behind lofty growth goals it set in January.

Back then, the island said it aimed for 9% GDP growth this year. But like China's economy overall, growth is running far below initial targets — due in a large part to outbreaks of a far more transmissible Covid variant.

A surge in Covid infections this month forced Hainan's oceanside resort city of Sanya to order tens of thousands of tourists to stay put at their hotels, and local residents to stay at home. Haikou, the province's capital, also issued stay-home orders.

Airlines cancelled flights, leaving tourists stranded on Hainan island since Saturday. In the last few days, some people have been able to return to the mainland on government-organized charter flights.

But questions remain — about uniform implementation of hotel stay subsidies, the cost of food and how soon most tourists can return to their homes.

«The public image and reputation of Hainan is damaged for the short term,» said Jacques Penhirin, a partner in the Greater China office of Oliver Wyman. «When I talk to the client they're all looking at the bookings for [the upcoming fall holiday] which are still quite resilient. People have not cancelled yet, but it's not looking good. Probably down on last year.»

It's «going to be bad for luxury brands and hospitality at least until Chinese New Year next year,» he said, referring to the Lunar New Year holiday in late January 2023.

In late July, China's top leaders indicated the country might miss the GDP target of around 5.5% set in March. Beijing did not signal any large-scale stimulus, or any change to its «dynamic zero-Covid» policy.

The national economy grew by just 2.5% in the first half of