A wave of government subsidies and the rise of “credit travel” -- a book-now-pay-later service that allows tourists to book trips without upfront payments -- have turned China’s extended Golden Week holiday into a nationwide tourism boom.
The National Day holiday, usually a seven-day break starting on Oct. 1 and known as “Golden Week,” has been extended to eight days this year as it is celebrated together with the Mid-Autumn Festival.
To boost holiday spending, local governments and payment platforms across China have issued more than 480 million yuan (about 67.4 million U.S. dollars) in coupons and travel subsidies for the holiday period.
Starting Sept. 26, central China’s Henan Province rolled out 110 million yuan (about 15.45 million U.S. dollars) in consumer vouchers across four rounds, covering sectors including retail, dining, hotels, cultural attractions, and tourism.
"Just now at 10 o’clock in the scenic area, I got this coupon for 20 percent off, and then bought this bag and a bike model here with it," said Cheng Yueying, a tourist.
Major banks in China also offered discounts and consumer vouchers.
In Beijing's Qianmen pedestrian zone, professionals were helping consumers claim these coupons and other benefits, in addition to a digital-yuan rebate offered by some financial institutions.
"We’ve prepared three major benefits for consumers. In addition to traditional spending discounts, we also introduced preferential digital RMB payments and launched a digital RMB check-in campaign," said Meng Hua, deputy head of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s Di’anmen Branch in Beijing.
"For the food carnival, we brought a lot of specialty foods from our hometown, Shanxi. The discounts are very good -- for example, 10 yuan (about 1.41 U.S. dollars) off purchases over 50 yuan (about 7.02 U.S. dollars). These promotions led to a nice increase in sales," said Wu Fengtian, a merchant from a local agricultural product promotion center.
The newest perk of this year’s National Day holiday is “credit travel,” which allows travelers with good credit to book scenic spot tickets or hotel rooms without a deposit and pay only after checkout or leaving the attraction.
"In the past, I had to plan ahead to get tickets, deal with refunds, and tie up money in deposits. But with ‘credit travel,’ I just go, have fun, and pay later when I finish my travel, which is convenient and hassle-free,” said Deng Yan, a tourist from north China’s Hebei Province.
This new model is especially appealing to younger consumers.
"Data shows that the proportion of young consumers has increased from the original 20 percent to around 45 percent. The new consumption model has also boosted secondary spending and repeat purchases at our scenic area and improved our reputation,” said Bi Shiquan, online sales director at the Qiyunshan Cultural Tourism Resort in Huangshan City.
Subsidies, easier payments boost holiday consumption in China
