China’s official nine-day Spring Festival holiday is coming to an end, but the spending surge it triggered continues to make waves.
The Spring Festival, marking the start of the Chinese New Year, fell on Feb. 17 this year. The official holiday lasts nine days from Feb. 15 to 23, with the travel rush period lasting through March 13 as residents head home for family reunions and leisure and return for work.
This year is being called the busiest Spring Festival travel season on record, with airports, railway stations, and highways across China operating at full capacity.
On Sunday alone, the 21st day of the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush and the penultimate day of the Spring Festival holiday, more than 370 million inter-regional passenger trips are expected to be made across China, marking the peak of this year's Spring Festival travel rush.
It’s not just domestic travel; cross-border trips are surging as well. The daily average number of inbound and outbound travelers is expected to exceed two million, marking a more than 14 percent increase from last year. From Southeast Asia to Europe, Chinese tourists are returning, boosted by visa-free policies and rising consumer confidence.
The holiday spending is also evident on the big screen. Over the past decade, Spring Festival box office revenue has grown more than five times, turning the holiday into China’s most important movie season.
As of Sunday evening, total box office revenue for this year's Spring Festival holiday has surpassed 5 billion yuan (about 700 million U.S. dollars). More than 100 million moviegoers have visited cinemas nationwide, highlighting strong demand for entertainment.
Consumption is also rising across multiple sectors as well. In the first four days of the holiday, average daily sales at major retail and catering businesses increased by 8.6 percent year on year. New consumption trends are also emerging. Duty-free sales in Hainan rose almost 16 percent, reaching 970 million yuan (about 140 million dollars).
Behind the surge is strong policy support. Local governments distributed more than two billion yuan (about 289.5 million U.S. dollars) in consumption vouchers and subsidies. Meanwhile, China's nationwide trade-in program for vehicles and home appliances has already generated nearly 200 billion yuan (about 28.95 billion U.S. dollars) in sales this year. These measures are designed to boost spending, support businesses, and strengthen economic growth.
China's Spring Festival Holiday powers record spending across travel, retail, entertainment
