Travel and culture drive holiday spending

During the Spring Festival holiday, catering, accommodation, intangible cultural heritage experiences, and leisure entertainment saw remarkable growth, according to a recent report by social media platform Douyin.

As dining out gained popularity, on Chinese New Year's Eve, Douyin's group-buy orders for family reunion meals surged 245 percent year-on-year, with local cuisine emerging as the top choice for festive meals.

While many young people chose to stay in hotels after returning to their hometowns, a growing number of families used the Spring Festival holiday to travel elsewhere. From Feb 14 to 22, Douyin's group-buy bookings for hotels and minsu (Chinese-style bed-and-breakfast establishments) rose 94 percent and 88 percent year-on-year respectively.

Shanghai, Zhengzhou in Henan province, Beijing, Chengdu in Sichuan province, Fuzhou in Fujian province ranked among the top five cities for group-buy consumer spending during the Spring Festival holiday.

From Feb 14 to 22, the platform's group-buy sales of products that combined intangible cultural heritage with themed markets soared 764 percent year-on-year.

The theme parks that center on traditional Chinese culture emerged as popular destinations. Tourists interacted with NPCs (non-player characters) dressed in traditional costumes, joined lantern fairs, and watched intangible cultural heritage performances, connecting with the past in an engaging way.