2015年CRI More Trips and Spending During Chinese National Holiday

 

Data from Chinese bank card company UnionPay shows consumer spending on tourist-related activities during the National Holiday increased by nearly 45-percent compared to the same period last year.

UnionPay claims its stats show spending on transportation surged a massive 86-percent this National Day holiday compared with 2014.

The Ministry¹ of Transport says an estimated 651-million domestic trips were made during the seven-day holiday.

On a regional level, scenic² areas in Xinjiang saw the fastest pace of growth in ticket incomes compared to other parts of China.

But at the same time, outbound travel was also popular during this year's holiday.

Lu Bei is with a leading Chinese travel agency.

She says major international cities, including London and Paris, appeared to be quite popular.

"All of our outbound travel was booked two months ago. Trips to Europe, the US and Australia increased by 150 percent. At the same time, trips to popular destinations like London and Paris increased by some 200 percent."

The number of trips to Japan also appears to have been on the rise.

Chinese travel booking website Ctrip says Japan is proving to be one of the most popular overseas destination for Chinese tourists during the holiday.

This year's holiday has also seen a growing number of Chinese people use credit cards to finance their trips.

UnionPay says the total transactions amount through credit cards has hit a new high during the week-long holiday, up nearly 30 percent.

Chen Han, data analyst³ at UnionPay, says one thing they have noticed is that the number of interbank transactions, which are an indication of overall sales, slowed down this year during the holiday.

He says the timing⁴ of the holiday on the calendar is one of the factors.

"The growth rate of interbank transactions during the national holiday slowed down because of the working days. This year saw the mid-autumn festival and the national day holiday fall very close together. If someone asked for three-days-leave, they could link the two holidays together for a total of 12 days off, which naturally means earlier spending by many ahead of October 1st. This is why shops were giving out national holiday promotion⁵ deals earlier. This prompted many consumers to go out and spend earlier this year."

The same UnionPay report show shows people in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Guangdong were the biggest spenders during the holiday.

The use of mobile apps for travel and food delivery services also increased significantly during the National Day holiday.

Observers in China have been suggesting the use of mobile apps is reshaping consumption patterns in China through their ease of use, as well as the discounts many companies provide in promoting the use of their mobile app service.

For CRI, I'm Min Rui.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 scenic   

adj.自然景色的，景色优美的

参考例句：

• The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
• The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

5 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。