China experiences a robust start to the Spring Festival holidays, marked by a notable surge in consumption, including a remarkable increase in movie ticket sales, an unprecedented travel boom, and festive purchases on the first day of the eight-day holiday.
The strong momentum in consumption during this year’s holidays is anticipated to surpass pre-pandemic levels from 2019, reflecting positive signs for China’s economic recovery and growth prospects in the Year of the Dragon.
Saturday, the beginning of the Year of the Dragon, witnessed a significant uptick in movie ticket sales, with orders through trip.com soaring over 300 percent year-on-year. Travel orders and airport pick-up orders also rose by 102 percent and 75 percent, respectively, indicating a surge in travel consumption. Notably, these figures surpassed the levels recorded in 2019, underscoring the enthusiastic participation in various holiday activities.
Inbound and outbound travel orders reached a new high in recent years, with both showing expansion compared to 2019. Popular overseas destinations such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, offering mutual visa exemptions to Chinese tourists, experienced increased demand.
Data from online travel agencies revealed a spike in travel searches for sub-venues of the Spring Festival gala, including Kashi in Xinjiang, jumping over 50 percent on Saturday compared to Friday.
China Railway reported expectations of 5.5 million passenger trips nationwide on Saturday, with an additional 176 passenger trains in operation. During the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, a total of 480 million passenger trips are anticipated, marking a 37.9 percent increase from 2023.
The ongoing travel rush and family reunions during the Spring Festival are projected to further stimulate the consumer market, particularly in areas such as festival gift boxes, products related to long-distance travel, and winter outdoor activities.
To boost consumption power, China’s Ministry of Cultural and Tourism is distributing consumption coupons worth over 600 million yuan ($83.4 million) during the holidays.
In addition to heightened spending, the holiday box office sales are showing a promising start, surpassing 1.5 billion yuan ($208.52 million) for new films during the Spring Festival holidays. Top-performing blockbusters include Pegasus 2, YOLO, and Time Twist.
Analysts highlight that the consumption boom during the Spring Festival holidays will inject new impetus into China’s overall economic recovery in 2024. The optimistic start, coupled with policy measures from various cities, is expected to contribute to stabilizing growth and achieving high-quality development throughout the year.
Economists widely anticipate that the Chinese economy will expand at a rate above 5 percent in 2024, reinforcing positive expectations for the nation’s economic trajectory.