Zhang Xiqin, deputy director of CNTA, said difficulty in getting train and plane tickets is no reason for abolishing Golden Week holidays. He said, ‘Government departments are looking at various options. Official holidays could be prolonged. Another possibility would be to link them to other traditional festivals.’
Chinese travelers spent RMB73.6 billion ($9.6 billion) during the week-long Labor Day holiday. A total of 179 million people went on tour, up 26% on last year.
Zhang said the statistics show that Golden Week holidays benefit people’s lives and promote domestic consumption, which is in line with the central government’s strategy to rebalance the economy.
Golden Week holidays also totally disrupt business, throw staggering strains on the transportation system of China and, it can be argued, do not enhance the image of a forward-looking dynamic China.
Source: China View