The number of trips and consumption amount during the 2026 Spring Festival holiday reached a record high

Source: Securities Times Network Author: Tang Ying

During the 9-day long Spring Festival holiday in 2026, the nationwide consumption enthusiasm was ignited, with several key data sets reaching record highs.

According to calculations by the Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, during the Spring Festival holiday, domestic travel nationwide reached 596 million trips, with total domestic travel expenditure of 803.483 billion yuan, both hitting historical records. During the holiday, the theme activity “Celebrating the New Year with Joy” boosted intangible cultural heritage performances, cultural and museum exhibitions, ice and snow tourism, and other sectors, leading to a comprehensive increase in consumption. The consumption month and measures such as issuing consumer vouchers across various regions effectively stimulated market vitality.

Data from the State Taxation Administration show that during the Spring Festival holiday, catering revenue increased by 31.2% year-on-year, department store retail sales grew by 39.3% year-on-year, and online retail maintained a 10.4% growth despite a high base. Payment data also confirmed market activity, with the People’s Bank of China reporting that UnionPay and NetUnion processed a total of 39.302 billion transactions amounting to 13.12 trillion yuan during the holiday, with significant year-on-year increases in daily transaction volume and amount.

(Edited by: Wen Jing)

Keywords: Spring Festival Consumption