Land of the long weekend? China's plans to holiday its way to an economic revival

Reducing summer working hours and improving toilets at tourist sites are among proposals by the State Council aimed at boosting tourism and reviving China's economy.

Twenty-six proposals posted on the State Council’s website on Tuesday urged local governments to encourage tourism and consumption, create jobs, boost incomes and improve life quality. They called for greater investment and widespread improvements to tourism infrastructure, new shopping hubs and enhanced holiday booking procedures. And better toilets.

As part of the push, some 57,000 toilets at tourist attractions will be refurbished over the next three years to improve the pumping and treatment of waste.

Authorities hope that by 2017 all toilets at mainland tourist sites will be well managed, clean, odourless and free to use.

In February, Li Jinzao,  director of the China National Tourism Administration,  said  many toilets on the mainland were “dirty, messy, substandard and insufficient” and hurt the reputation of the tourism 8industry.

The State Council also wants local governments to encourage businesses to cut summer working hours by giving employees Friday afternoons off. It hopes this will encourage workers to use the long weekends to travel.

Beijing-based economist Hu Xingdou  said tourism development had “hit a bottleneck” and that “an overhaul could really help push China, with its rich history and natural sightseeing attractions, to become the world’s biggest tourism nation”.