China ‘golden week’ holiday spending rebounds from coronavirus with daily spending up 4.9 per cent on year
- China’s retail and restaurant sales reached 1.6 trillion yuan (US$235.5 billion) over the ‘golden week’ holiday, with daily sales up 4.9 per cent compared to last year
- The rebound in consumption will be a shot in the arm for China, which has until recently relied on debt and construction to recover from the coronavirus pandemic
A surge in spending over China’s “golden week” holiday has highlighted an encouraging rebound in consumption after the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the economy early in the year.
During this year’s eight-day holiday, which combined National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival, retail and restaurant sales reached 1.6 trillion yuan (US$235.5 billion), with daily sales up 4.9 per cent compared to last year’s seven-day holiday, according to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Commerce.
China UnionPay, the country’s largest payment processing scheme, reported that transactions during the first seven days of the holiday rose 6.3 per cent from a year earlier to 2.16 trillion yuan. On October 1, daily transactions surpassed 330 billion yuan, up 16 per cent from a year earlier.
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Millions on the move as China welcomes ‘golden week’, first major holiday after coronavirus
More than 146,800 tourists flocked to the tropical island’s stores over the holiday after the government raised the annual duty-free shopping allowance from 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan earlier this year.