Spring Festival consumption fuels China's economic momentum

Editor's Note: Xin Ge, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is an associate professor at the School of Public Economics and Administration, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The Spring Festival not only embodies China's most significant traditional holiday but also serves as a crucial window for observing the country's consumer economy. This year's Spring Festival holiday witnessed a remarkable surge in domestic consumption, with various indicators in the tourism sector reaching unprecedented highs. Movie box office revenues and attendance shattered records, while tax-free shopping, dining, automotive, and home appliance consumption also saw notable increases. These developments underscore ample momentum in China's consumption landscape, poised to drive sustained high-quality economic and social development in the year ahead.

According to various statistics, the consumption figures during the 2024 Spring Festival holiday (February 10 to February 17) were exceptionally impressive. Nationwide domestic tourism during the Spring Festival holiday reached 474 million trips, with total expenditure amounting to 632.7 billion Chinese yuan ($88 billion). China's Spring Festival movie box office surpassed 8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion), attracting a total viewership of 163 million, setting records in Chinese film history for Spring Festival box office revenues and viewership.

Significant growth was observed in family gatherings for meals during the Spring Festival, with night market consumption nationwide accounting for approximately 53 percent, marking a 48 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023, and ticket sales in leisure places more than doubling. These positive trends not only indicate a robust rebound in the 2024 Spring Festival economy but also reflect the optimistic growth of national consumer confidence.

Firstly, The Spring Festival, revered as a profound cultural emblem of familial unity and communal exchange, has served as a catalyst for the burgeoning of consumption during the 2024 festivities. On one hand, the cherished tradition of family reunions during the Spring Festival prompts large-scale interregional travels as usual. Data from the Ministry of Transport indicates that from February 10 to February 17, the estimated cumulative interregional passenger flow is expected to reach 2.3 billion. Within this tapestry of movement, railway passenger traffic is expected to amass 99.59 million, road passenger figures to 2.18 billion, waterway voyagers to 9.4 million, and civil aviation travelers to 18.04 million.

Furthermore, the growth of the cultural economy has also become a significant aspect of the Spring Festival economy. Watching films together with family and friends during the holiday has become an important means of social communion. Platform data reveals that amidst the 2024 Spring Festival film season, a noteworthy 26.4 percent of the 163 million viewers indulged in group ticket purchases of three or more, a steady uptick in this trend year by year. In terms of film genres, family-friendly films were more popular. As a result, national box office revenues and viewership during the 2024 Spring Festival season soared by 18.47 percent and 26.36 percent respectively, compared to the year 2023. Driven by the Spring Festival box office, as of February 18, China's cumulative film box office earnings for 2024 had exceeded 11 billion yuan.

The burgeoning tourism sector has also made a significant contribution to the vitality of the Spring Festival economy. According to data from Ctrip Travel, northern cities such as Harbin, Changchun, and Shenyang emerged as premier destinations for ice and snow tourism during the Spring Festival, Notably, certain cities, celebrated for their social media presence, experienced a notable surge in online popularity.

With the expansion of visa-free travel agreements, China's national border inspection agencies facilitated a staggering total of 13.52 million inbound and outbound trips for both Chinese and foreign nationals during the holiday. This averaged 1.69 million trips per day, marking a remarkable 2.8-fold increase compared to the same period in 2023. Alipay data further underscores the burgeoning tourism activity, revealing a 500 percent increase in spending by overseas tourists in China during this year's Spring Festival.

Mainland tourists also embarked on international trips, with data revealing a nearly 2.4-fold increase in overseas payments made through WeChat Pay compared to the previous year. Furthermore, Alipay users increased their overseas expenditures by 140 percent, with spending in Southeast Asia skyrocketing by 580 percent.

The impressive performance of the Spring Festival economy has established a buoyant outlook for China's economic path in the upcoming year. Given this impulse, local governments should capitalize on the opportunity to intensify their efforts in stabilizing and enhancing the consumption market. Promoting innovation, cultivating distinctive consumption experiences, and maintaining the momentum of thriving consumption are vital pursuits. Through such initiatives, China can consistently gather fresh impetus for high-quality economic development.

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