From Qixi Festival to Olympic Games, China's consumption booms in summer

A couple celebrates the Qixi Festival in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. Photo: IC

From the Qixi Festival and the excitement of watching the Olympic Games to the bustling cinema scene and popular travel destinations, China is currently experiencing a surge in consumption across various sectors, showcasing the country's vibrant and dynamic economy. 

Chinese consumers are demonstrating their love for leisure, entertainment, and sports in a big way, with sports fans clamoring for gear inspired by their favorite Olympic athletes and many choosing to spend their summer days in theaters or exploring new destinations.

The spending frenzy reflects the immense potential of China's consumption market, which is expected to further drive the country's economic growth, experts said.

As the Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day) approaches, couples are seeking unique and romantic dating experiences, leading to a surge in bookings for hotels and dining.

As this year's Qixi Festival falls on Saturday, hotel packages including dinner and tickets to scenic areas are proving a hit, with a 122 percent increase in bookings compared to last month, according to data from Tongcheng Travel sent to the Global Times on Friday. 

Meanwhile, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has driven a boom in sports consumption in China.

On e-commerce platform Taobao, the "ugly fish" style slippers worn by Chinese diving sensation Quan Hongchan have seen a 1,396 percent increase in search volume. Tennis champion Zheng Qinwen's popularity led to over 1.53 million intended purchases of the tennis racket she uses on Taobao in one night, according to data provided by Alibaba Group to the Global Times on Friday.

On online shopping platform Meituan, the search volume for "sports" saw a significant increase of 180 percent in July compared to the previous month, with some "niche" activities such as archery, indoor surfing, and rock climbing becoming the top searches among consumers, according to data sent by Meituan to the Global Times on Friday.

In addition to sports consumption, Chinese box office revenues are also on the rise, surpassing 1 billion yuan ($139.4 million) in August as of Thursday (August 8), indicating a strong demand for entertainment and leisure activities, according to real-time data from ticket platform Dengta.

The summer travel season, starting July 1, has also seen a significant uptick. As of Tuesday, the national railway had seen a total of 513 million passenger trips made, an increase of 5.4 percent compared to the same period last year, CCTV reported.

The surge in consumption comes as Chinese authorities are making increased efforts to boost service consumption in the country, aiming to unleash the full potential of consumer spending.

Government officials from various departments announced plans on Friday to enhance service consumption to meet the growing demand for a better quality of life among the people. 

Efforts will be made to enhance the cultural and tourism consumption atmosphere, upgrade equipment in the cultural and tourism sector, and improve the consumer experience through scenic spots ticket discounts and vouchers, officials said. 

The central government will allocate a budget to support cultural and tourism projects, focusing on improving key infrastructure such as roads, tourist toilets, parking lots, and charging facilities. Additionally, efforts will be made to enhance sports parks and football fields, as well as improve public fitness facilities, officials said.

Efforts to boost service consumption are expected to have a positive impact on the economy, driving consumption growth and creating opportunities for businesses in various sectors, experts said.

As Chinese people's living standards continue to improve, the demand for consumption is shifting toward higher-quality services. Developing service consumption not only meets the growing spiritual and cultural needs of the public but also promotes consumption upgrade and unleashes the huge potential of consumer spending, Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin School of Administration, told the Global Times on Friday.

With the solid implementation of pro-consumption policies, China's consumer market scale has continued to grow in the first half of the year. 

China's retail sales of consumer goods went up 3.7 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Service consumption stood out as a bright spot, with retail sales of services expanding 7.5 percent from a year ago in the first half of the year. The figure was 4.3 percentage points higher than that of goods.

"In response to the increasing demand for high-quality services, the guidelines and efforts from various government departments are crucial and timely in providing a detailed roadmap for consumption recovery," Cong said. 

The development of the service industry has immense potential and can accommodate a larger labor force than the manufacturing sector, fostering innovation and entrepreneurship among small- and medium-sized enterprises, Cong said.