Tax data shows consumption growth in China's Spring Festival holiday

People shop at Haikou Riyue Plaza Duty Free Shop in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Jan. 25, 2023. Tourists went shopping in Hainan, a major tourist destination for visitors in winter, during the Spring Festival holiday. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

The sales revenue of China's consumption-related sectors during the weeklong Spring Festival holiday went up 12.2 percent from last year, tax data showed Friday.

The sales revenue saw an average annual growth of 12.4 percent during the period compared with the Spring Festival holiday in 2019, the pre-COVID-19 period, according to the value-added tax data released by the State Taxation Administration.

The recovery of tourism and accommodation services was accelerated. The sales revenue of travel agencies and related services surged 130 percent during the holiday from the previous Spring Festival break, recovering to 80.7 percent of the Spring Festival holiday in 2019, the data showed.

Tourist hotels and hotel chains saw their sales revenue increase by 16.4 percent and 30.6 percent respectively from last year, showed the data.

Meanwhile, consumption of daily necessities maintained steady growth, with sales revenue of basic living commodities such as grain, oil and food increased by 31.5 percent from the previous Spring Festival.

The Spring Festival holiday, which began on Jan. 21 this year, is the biggest occasion for family reunions and heralds the beginning of spring.