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Mandy Zuo

China is gearing up to harness the extended Lunar New Year holiday to attract more spending by international tourists, as the country looks to shake off a recent economic slowdown and pivot towards consumption-driven growth.
In a rare joint initiative by nine central government departments, Beijing announced plans earlier this month to turn the holiday – which this year began on Sunday and runs through February 23 – into a “consumption feast that links regions and engages everyone”.
The move comes as China strives to find new growth drivers and revive sluggish domestic demand, after retail sales growth slowed to 3.7 per cent year on year in 2025 and deflationary pressure continued to weigh on the economy.
The plan aims to drive up spending by tapping into China’s recent boom in inbound tourism, with proposals to increase capacity on international flights based on market demand and make it easier to use foreign bank cards and payment apps on the mainland.
It also encouraged local governments to release multilingual guides introducing Lunar New Year folk customs to help tourists experience China’s cultural heritage and holiday traditions.
Other parts of the plan focus on driving more domestic spending over the holiday using shopping vouchers, consumption subsidies and the country’s vast trade-in programme for consumer goods.
The Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is one of China’s most important holidays and has long been a crucial period for consumption, as hundreds of millions of workers enjoy a rare week-long break. This year’s holiday holds extra promise as it will last for an unusually long nine days.
“Never before has there been a document of this scale specifically promoting Spring Festival consumption – expectations for consumption are now very high,” said Liu Xuexin, a professor at Beijing’s Capital University of Economics and Business.


While inbound tourism currently only drives a small share of China’s overall consumption, it could serve as a lever to boost the economy, he said, as China pins increasing hopes on consumer spending amid slowing investment and rising trade uncertainties.
“With strong downward pressure on the economy, it’s not easy to find something to lift confidence,” Liu said. “Inbound travel performed well last year, so there’s a lot of work to do to encourage inbound tourists to spend more.”
Spending by inbound tourists accounted for about 0.5 per cent of China’s gross domestic product in 2024, far below the average level of about 1 per cent to 3 per cent in major global economies – indicating huge untapped growth potential, a December article in People’s Daily noted.
China saw a surge in inbound tourist spending in 2025 as visitor numbers boomed due to the country’s expanded visa-free policies and a government policy making it easier for tourists to claim tax refunds on their purchases.
The number of foreign travellers claiming departure tax refunds rose threefold in 2025 compared with a year earlier, according to official data. Sales of refunded goods and the total value of claimed tax refunds both surged by about 96 per cent year on year.
In November, the Ministry of Commerce launched China’s first nationwide “premium consumption promotion month” focused on high-end and international shopping experiences in five major cities.
The five cities – Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing – together accounted for about 80 per cent of China’s total departure tax refund sales, according to figures from the ministry.
Consumption accounted for 52 per cent of China’s GDP in 2025, well below the global average of about 67 per cent in recent years, according to World Bank data.


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Beijing sees huge untapped potential in spending by inbound travellers as it strives to drive up demand over the crucial nine-day holiday


Beijing sees huge untapped potential in spending by inbound travellers as it strives to drive up demand over the crucial nine-day holiday.


China targets foreign tourists for Lunar New Year ‘consumption feast’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Beijing sees huge untapped potential in spending by inbound travellers as it strives to drive up demand over the crucial nine-day holiday

Beijing sees huge untapped potential in spending by inbound travellers as it strives to drive up demand over the crucial nine-day holiday