Spring Festival spending is in full "horse" power! The cultural and tourism market continues to be hot. Trade-in and prize-winning receipts ignite consumer enthusiasm.

During the Spring Festival holiday, the cultural and tourism market continued to heat up, driving an increase in tourism-related consumption; targeted policies for benefiting the people are being implemented precisely, with measures such as “national subsidies” and pilot programs for prize-winning invoices, leveraging real financial incentives to continuously release consumption potential. The strong festive atmosphere and vigorous consumer activity intertwine, allowing people to enjoy convenient and affordable consumption while celebrating the holiday.

The Cultural and Tourism Market Remains Hot

Visiting Yungang Grottoes and Datong Ancient City, queuing for popular knife-shaved noodles, and buying some vinegar to take home… This Spring Festival, Ms. Lin from Beijing and her family traveled to Datong, Shanxi, for the holiday.

“Having such a long holiday is rare, so we planned a self-driving trip to Datong early on. This time, we visited Yungang Grottoes, Huayan Temple, and Datong Ancient City. Everywhere was decorated with lanterns and festive ornaments, creating a very strong holiday atmosphere,” Ms. Lin told reporters.

This Spring Festival, many people like Ms. Lin chose to travel for the holiday, leading to a tourism peak in many regions.

According to data from the Hubei Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, by February 20, the first six days of the Spring Festival holiday, the province’s A-level tourist attractions received a total of 15.0241 million visitors, a year-on-year increase of 12.41%.

Data from the Chengdu Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau show that during the first three days of the holiday (February 15-17), the city received a total of 2.963 million out-of-town visitors, a 6.5% increase on a comparable basis; A-level scenic spots received 3.878 million visitors, with ticket revenue of 23.135 million yuan.

Multiple organizations’ data indicate that tourism-related consumption is also rising in tandem. Fliggy data shows that during the first three days of the holiday, bookings for travel or accommodation services increased significantly year-on-year, with hotel room nights up over 80% and ticket sales up 54%.

Meituan Travel data shows that from the second to the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, flight bookings increased by 40% year-on-year, with popular destinations including Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Zhengzhou, Xi’an, Hangzhou, and Wuhan.

Dianping data shows that in the first four days of the Spring Festival, the overall traffic on the “Must-Eat List” increased nearly 40% compared to the same period last year, with out-of-region traffic rising nearly 50%, and orders from listed merchants increasing by 81% year-on-year.

Visiting scenic spots, checking in at ancient towns, and experiencing intangible cultural heritage have become main activities for spring travel. Various regions have also launched a wide variety of Spring Festival themed activities to attract tourists for in-depth experiences.

Image source: Meituan Travel

Meituan Travel data shows that as of February 22, since the first week of February, the heat of Wansui Mountain in Kaifeng, Song Martial Arts City, and the Qingming Riverside Park Temple Fair in Kaifeng increased by 53% and 163% respectively. Additionally, Kaifeng continues to enhance its “Song Culture” IP, with the popularity of “Song Banquet” and “Song Garden Soup Dumplings” rising by over 500%. By early February, the growth rate of Spring Festival cultural and tourism bookings in Henan Province was significant, with Kaifeng leading the increase.

Trade-In Promotions and Prize-Winning Invoices Ignite Consumption

“Since the Spring Festival holiday was relatively free, and the trade-in promotion was quite substantial, I bought a new refrigerator for my family,” said Ms. Yang, a resident of Xi’an. She chose a refrigerator originally priced at 3,899 yuan, participated in the store’s promotion, received a 15% national subsidy, and paid only 2,700 yuan.

Recently, Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping announced that the Ministry of Commerce, together with the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance, allocated the first batch of 62.5 billion yuan in national subsidies, which has already reached local commerce departments. During the nine-day Spring Festival holiday, they will guide local authorities to increase subsidy distribution to fully ensure consumers can claim subsidies according to policy requirements.

In addition, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, and the State Taxation Administration recently confirmed the launch of prize-winning invoice pilot programs in 50 cities. Over a six-month implementation period, 10 billion yuan in awards and subsidies will be distributed. During the nine-day Spring Festival holiday, the total prize pool will exceed 1 billion yuan.

“Got it! 20 yuan in my hand!” Zunyi resident Ms. Wang shared her prize-winning invoice results. She told reporters, “I heard about this activity, so I uploaded a 120-yuan invoice just to try. The review was very quick, and I won immediately. I was so surprised!”

Prize-winning invoice screenshot Source: Interviewee provided

As one of the 50 pilot cities for prize-winning invoices, Zunyi has been running the activity from February 12 to July 31 across the city. Consumers in designated retail, dining, and other sectors can upload digital invoices via the “Cloud Quick Pay” app to participate in the lottery, with prizes up to 800 yuan.

Latest data from multiple pilot cities show that prize-winning invoice activities are igniting new vitality in urban consumption. According to the Shandong Provincial Department of Commerce, since the activity’s launch, by February 19, 277,000 people had submitted 1.118 million valid invoices totaling 420 million yuan, involving 19,000 merchants.

Data from the Chengdu Commerce Bureau indicates that since the start of the prize-winning invoice activity, nearly 700,000 people have participated in the lottery, uploading over 2.6 million invoices, with prizes totaling more than 13 million yuan. Since February 21, Chengdu has increased the daily prize amount from 2 million to 3 million yuan, and added more daily winners.