China's state-owned Global Times China on Tuesday sounded the metaphorical starting gun for the 2025 Lunar New Year travel rush. The event is frequently touted by China as the world's largest annual population movement.
The Chinese government is hoping this year's rush to popular family gatherings and vacation spots will also boost sluggish consumer spending.
“Overall, this year's Lunar New Year travel rush is expected to break records, with an estimated 9 billion people expected to make trips across the country in the 40 days starting Tuesday,” the newspaper said. Global Times reported.
“Data from various travel platforms also shows that the eight-day Chinese New Year holiday starting January 28 will be the peak travel season, which also speaks to consumer confidence and purchasing power,” the report added. Ta.
of spring festival is China's largest holiday season, and like certain holiday seasons in the Western world, it has grown far beyond its technical start and end dates. The festival nominally begins on Lunar New Year on January 29 this year and ends 15 days later on Lunar New Year. lantern festivalwill be held on February 12th.
as Global Times Chinese New Year is now approaching a month-long holiday season, with hints that people will be allowed to travel to visit family and enjoy resorts. The 40-day travel season is Chunyun, Literally means “spring journey”.
Chinese New Year has become known as a major event. Shopping spree and movie season. All these activities require money, and the Chinese government is keen for consumers to open their wallets after years of activity. unfortunate Domestic consumption after the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.
There is a growing consensus among international observers and the Chinese public that the Beijing regime has been fabricating economic data since 2021 to hide the true decline of the economy. A prosperous Lunar New Year travel and shopping season will help a lot. Toward helping the government allay these concerns. Chinese state media wants nothing more than to report record consumer spending after the Lantern Festival lanterns go out.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Tuesday urged foreign tourists to take advantage of the government's new policies to make traveling to China easier and more attractive to participate in the Spring Festival.
“With the Lunar New Year, the first Spring Festival since the festival was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, half a month away, we welcome foreign tourists to participate in the Chinese New Year festivities and experience the joy.”Chinese New Year “Let's welcome the auspicious Year of the Snake and feel the warm hospitality of China,” Guo said.
Guo was referring to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and its list of representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The list is Establishment In 2003, it grew into a very large compendium of “practices, expressions, representations, knowledge, and skills” considered essential to cultures around the world.
UNESCO addedor the “inscription” of Chinese New Year on the December list, making it the 44th artifact of Chinese culture to be given such an honor.
“China's visa-free policy is boosting inbound travel. Since the beginning of this year, the trend of 'China travel' has continued, and many foreign tourists spent New Year's Eve in China. “Some travel agencies estimate that the number of travel bookings by foreign tourists during this year's Spring Festival will increase by 203% year-on-year compared to 2024,” China's state-run Xinhua News Agency said. gushing out on tuesday.
Coincidentally, 2024 was a great year miserable year For tourism in China. Although there was a lot of travel, travelers did not spend much money. Some in the travel and hospitality industry say this is the worst year ever. The disappointment was all the more pronounced because the government had expected a great year with the cash registers ringing, just as it did during the 2025 Chinese New Year.
Reuters on Tuesday spoke Chinese tourists were hoping the Lunar New Year holiday would provide a distraction from the struggling economy.
“If the economy improves, you'll have a better chance of finding a job, and you won't have to go back to studying for a master's or PhD. And if the economy improves, my father's bonus won't be cut in half. Other than that. There's nothing wrong with that,'' said a young woman who was attending a family gathering.
Several young people said they were looking forward to leaving the crowded cities and peacefully visiting rural communities with their families. This is a nice sentiment, but it doesn't suggest they will dispose of large amounts of disposable income.
Reuters reports, “Unemployment data has shown some improvement in recent months, but millions of university graduates have been forced to accept low-paying jobs or live on their parents' pensions.'' ” he pointed out.
