Qingming Festival holiday sees travel boom, tourism spending surge

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China

Qingming Festival holiday sees travel boom, tourism spending surge

2025-04-07 21:13 Last Updated At：21:37

China's three-day Qingming Festival holiday, which ended on Sunday, sparked a nationwide travel upsurge, with domestic and cross-border trips and consumer spending all seeing steady growth, official data showed on Monday.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, a total of 126 million domestic trips were made during the holiday, up 6.3 percent from last year. Travel-related spending reached 57.55 billion yuan (around 8 billion U.S. dollars), marking a 6.7 percent year-on-year increase.

The dynamism showed across the transport sector as well. The Ministry of Transport estimated that interregional passenger flows across China hit a record high of 790 million during the break. On average, there were about 264 million passenger trips daily, up 7.1 percent from 2024.

Cross-border travel also registered a notable jump. The National Immigration Administration reported that border control authorities processed over 6.21 million inbound and outbound trips over three days. The average daily number of exits and entries through ports across China exceeded two million, reflecting a 19.7 percent increase from a year earlier.

Traditionally a time for tomb sweeping and paying tribute to ancestors, the Qingming Festival holiday has also become a catalyst for travel and tourism spending in recent years.

Short-haul getaways and local excursions continued to dominate travel choices this year. There's a growing demand for rural escapes and outdoor activities, with self-drive trips, cycling, and hiking among the most popular options.

Historic neighborhoods, commercial districts, and countryside destinations bustled with visitors thanks to their integrated dining, lodging, and shopping offerings.

One major highlight was the rise of the "flower-viewing economy." Online travel platforms reported a 220 percent surge in searches for floral attractions as spring blossoms became a magnet for holidaymakers.

Japan's economy faces multiple shocks from US tariffs: expert

2025-04-10 19:59 Last Updated At：20:07

Japan's economy faces major shocks after the United States imposed its "reciprocal tariffs" policy, according to a Japanese expert.

The U.S. has imposed a 25 percent tariff on imported cars and introduced an additional 24 percent reciprocal tariff on Japanese products starting Wednesday. These measures have raised concerns about potential systemic risks to the global economy.

In an interview with China Central Television Network (CCTV), Nobuhiko Hibara, an associate professor from Waseda University's business school, highlighted the severe impacts of the U.S. trade protectionist measures on Japan's key industries, including automobiles.

"Japan exports about 30 to 33 percent of its cars to the United States. So, that's the part which affected the most. If Japan's automobile exports to the U.S. decrease by around 500,000 vehicles, Japan's nominal GDP is projected to contract by approximately 0.3 percent. The impact is enormous. Of course, prices will go up. Consumption will also shrink," he said.

While the United States claims to address the hollowing out of American manufacturing, it is essentially a form of trade protectionism, noted the expert.

"Even if the so-called U.S. trade deficit is reduced by the imposition of tariffs, but if the trade volume itself decreases, even reducing the trade deficit will not help. So, countries are very worried right now about the risk of an overall global economic contraction," he said.