China sees travel and consumption boom during National Day holiday

China's consumption and tourism sectors experienced a robust surge during the eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, underscoring the country's economic vitality and resilient consumer demand.

Consumption-related industries reported a 4.5 percent rise in sales revenue during the holiday, according to the State Taxation Administration. Data from the Ministry of Commerce showed that sales of key retail and catering enterprises went up 2.7 percent year on year.

The holiday also saw new spending trends, with green, smart and China-chic products gaining significant traction. According to the data, sales of green organic food surged 27.9 percent year on year, while sales of smart home appliances and China-chic clothing increased 14.3 percent and 14.1 percent, respectively.

This year, the National Day holiday coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival, extending the public holiday period from October 1 through October 8. A total of 888 million tourist trips were made during the holiday period, generating 809 billion yuan ($113.6 billion) in tourism revenue, 108.2 billion yuan more than during last year's seven-day holiday. 

The film market also showed strong performance. This year's holiday lineup covered a wider variety of films from war epics to family comedies, sparking a movie-going frenzy. According to the China Film Administration, total box office revenue reached nearly 1.84 billion yuan over the period.

On the transport front, around 2.4 billion cross-regional passenger trips took place across the country during the eight-day holiday, marking an average daily increase of 6.3 percent from a year earlier, according to data released by the Ministry of Transport.

The total number of inbound and outbound travels during the holiday reached 16.3 million, with the daily average number surging 11.5 percent, according to data from the National Immigration Administration.

"The consumption boom during the National Day holiday reflects China's vast consumption potential and strong economic vitality," said Hong Yong, an associate research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. He noted that the surge was driven by rising household incomes, robust domestic demand, and improving market confidence.

(With input from Xinhua)