China consumption edges up during Qingming holiday as travel surges

Retail and catering sales recorded year-on-year growth.

Consumption-related sectors in China showed signs of a mild recovery during the Qingming Festival holiday on 4 to 6 April, with travel demand receiving a notable boost from the overlap with the spring break period, according to UOB.

Average daily sales for major retail and catering enterprises rose by 2.4% year-on-year during the holiday, as per data from the Ministry of Commerce.

The catering sector performed slightly better, with sales increasing by 3.9% year-on-year, reflecting steady consumer activity.

In the duty-free segment, total offline duty-free sales in Hainan reached $40.91m (RMB279m), marking a 14.8% year-on-year increase, according to Haikou Customs.

The number of shoppers climbed 19.6% to 476,000, though per capita spending declined by approximately 4%, suggesting more cautious individual consumption despite higher foot traffic.

The hotel sector recorded modest gains, with accommodation spending rising 2.6% year-on-year across key platforms.

Meanwhile, Macau reported 460,013 visitor arrivals during the holiday period, averaging 153,338 daily visitors, representing a 12.5% increase compared to last year.

Retail activity also strengthened, with foot traffic in 78 key monitored commercial areas increasing by 6%, whilst sales grew by 6.7% year-on-year, signaling improved consumer engagement in major shopping districts.

Tourism figures also reflected steady expansion. According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, domestic trips totaled 135 million, up 6.8% year-on-year, whilst tourism receipts reached $9b (RMB61.4b), a 6.6% increase. However, per capita tourism spending edged slightly lower to $67 (RMB 455), indicating a marginal decline in spending per traveler.

The report also highlighted the impact of the spring break period in driving travel demand. Travel platform Feizhu reported an increase in average tourism spending, whilst Tongcheng noted that domestic travel bookings in regions with spring break surged by 130%, significantly outpacing the broader market by around 30 percentage points.

Family travel emerged as a key driver, with long-haul family travel orders more than doubling year-on-year. Families accounted for approximately 40% of total leisure travel bookings, an increase of nearly 20 percentage points from the previous year.