Many tourists and locals turn to Airbnb as an alternative to hotels but not anymore in China

This comes as China tackles its “zero-Covid” policy, with lockdowns ongoing.

All listings for homes and experiences in the country will be removed from the company’s website by summer.

Although China is the most populated country in the world, stays within China made up only 1% of Airbnb’s revenue over the last few years.

The domestic rental operation for travellers visiting China has been complicated and expensive to run even before the pandemic.

The company is expected to instead focus on Chinese residents travelling abroad to other destinations.

Before the pandemic, data shows Chinese travellers heading abroad had tripled in less than a decade.

But for the past two years, China has had some of the toughest Covid restrictions in the world, with strong criticism from the west on its harsh lockdowns of residents.

This follows on from Airbnb’s shut down of operations in Russia and Belarus in April.