Holiday Hordes: Good for the Economy?
A total of 34.2 million tourists visited the 119 major tourist sites monitored by China’s National Tourism Administration over the eight-day holiday, according to state media, a 21% increase year-on-year.
Complicating the calculations is the government’s decision to slash admission fees and toll road tariffs across the country, a move that likely artificially propped up visitor numbers. Also, Golden Week coincided with the mid-Autumn Festival this year, meaning the “week” was a day longer.
But according to a note from Credit Suisse chief regional economist for Asia Pacific Dong Tao, the tourist figures and revenue at tourist sites recorded over the holiday show that even as other industrial areas of the economy slow, consumption remains resilient, supporting a “soft landing” view.