BEIJING, Jan 6 Reuters After three years of dealing with some of the world39;s toughest COVID19 curbs, there are early signs that Chinese consumers are gearing up to go out and spend again, particularly in major cities and tourist hot spots.

Over the threeday New Year39;s Day holiday, businesses and consumers caught their first glimpse of a return to postpandemic life holidaymakers flocked to beaches, flight numbers ticked up, and hotels turned some guests away because they were fully booked.

While the CaixinSP Global services purchasing managers39; index PMI on Thursday showed that the services sector continued to struggle in December, businesses are now hoping that the busy long weekend was a sign that a rebound is on the cards, even if a full recovery will take some time.

Looking ahead to the Lunar New Year festival in late January, cinemas are expecting their busiest single day of the year, while the catering industry should manage to take in revenues matching those from 2019.

I think the most difficult time for China39;s tourism industry is behind us, and what didn39;t kill us will only make us stronger, said Haiqing Lu, chief corporate affairs and strategic relations officer at InterContinental Hotels Group Greater China.

Although it39;s hard to quantify the recovery in the coming months at this point, we firmly believe, 39;once the gate is open, the trend is irreversible.39;

Some economists, however, are cautiously optimistic.

If there are no new COVID…