China's Spring Festival consumption boom signals strong economic momentum

Tourists enjoy plum blossoms at a scenic area in Zhangjiagang, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 23, 2026. (Photo/Shi Bairong)

Data released by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) showed that during the first four days of the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, which ran from Feb. 15 to 23, average daily sales at key retail and catering enterprises nationwide rose by 8.6 percent compared with the same period in 2025, reflecting robust momentum in the consumer market.

This year's Spring Festival holiday saw a strong festive atmosphere, high footfall, and brisk sales across the country's consumer market, an MOC official said. "The effects of policies continued to accumulate, consumption scenarios expanded and diversified, and service consumption showed particular vitality," the official added.

Commerce departments across the country backed consumption with a combination of policy support and promotional activities, channeling benefits directly to consumers through vouchers, subsidies and other means. The first tranche of 62.5 billion yuan (about $9.05 billion) earmarked for the consumer goods trade-in program had already been disbursed to various places before the holiday, with subsidies further increased during the festival period. In addition, 2.05 billion yuan was arranged nationwide and delivered directly to consumers in the form of vouchers, subsidies, and red packets.

The MOC, together with relevant departments and local governments, organized a special shopping campaign during the Spring Festival holiday, featuring activities across six areas, including dining, accommodation, transportation, tourism, shopping, and entertainment. The 78 pedestrian streets and business districts monitored by the ministry recorded notable year-on-year growth in both footfall and turnover. Business districts across the country underwent upgrades that incorporated traditional cultural elements into immersive consumer experiences. Around the festival period, places across the country also rolled out approximately 30,000 cultural and tourism events of varying themes.

The trade-in program continued to unlock consumer demand. As of Feb. 19, the 2026 consumer goods trade-in program had benefited 28.88 million consumer visits, generating sales of 198.02 billion yuan.

Photo shows customers in a mobile phone store in Louxing district, Loudi, central China's Hunan Province. (Photo/Wu Yonghua)

A tourism consumption report on the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, released by online travel platform LY.com on Feb. 23, found that the period from Feb. 18 to 19 emerged as the peak travel window within the holiday, with civil aviation traffic during that stretch up 38 percent compared with the same period of last year's Spring Festival.

The report also noted that traditional New Year customs remained the primary draw for domestic tourists, with travelers actively seeking authentic festive experiences rooted in Chinese cultural heritage.

Demand for winter tourism was particularly strong. Data from LY.com showed that Harbin, Changbai Mountain, Altay, and Zhangjiakou ranked among the most sought-after destinations for ice and snow activities during the holiday.

A Spring Festival consumption insights report published by e-commerce platform Meituan on Feb. 23 showed that Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Wuhan were the top 10 most popular tourist destinations, driven by a mix of family reunions and the growing trend of spending the holiday away from one's hometown.

New consumption forms and scenarios continued to emerge throughout the Spring Festival holiday, injecting fresh energy into the market. A Spring Festival data report released by the WeChat team on Feb. 23 showed that spending during the 2026 Spring Festival holiday continued to gain pace, with WeChat Pay transaction volumes for travel and lifestyle entertainment each rising by more than 20 percent.

"Celebrating the Spring Festival with AI" emerged as a novel holiday ritual. According to an executive of LY.com, data from DeepTrip, the platform's AI travel assistant, showed that queries related to the Spring Festival broke down as follows: transportation and ticketing accounted for around 57.4 percent, sightseeing and attraction information for about 20 percent, and questions about regional New Year customs for roughly 12.9 percent.

For younger travelers, AI trip planners have become not just itinerary assistants for the holiday, but indispensable guides to traditional customs, the director said.

Outbound travel also saw a surge, with bookings for long-haul trips of 15 days or more rising markedly. Data from online travel agency Trip.com showed strong demand for northern European aurora tours and Australia-New Zealand combined itineraries. WeChat data revealed that offline transaction volumes in Malaysia and the Maldives grew by 131 percent and 186 percent year on year, respectively.

Data from online travel service provider Qunar showed that bookings for domestic flights made using non-Chinese passports rose by 20 percent year on year during the holiday, with foreign visitors leaving their footprints across 107 Chinese cities.