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

Source: Securities Times Network Author: Tang Ying

In 2026, the nine-day Spring Festival holiday ignited nationwide consumer enthusiasm, with several key data points setting new records.

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 record highs. During the holiday, the theme activity “Celebrating the New Year with Joy” boosted non-heritage performances, cultural exhibitions, ice and snow tourism, and other sectors, while consumer months and local issuance of consumer vouchers and other惠民 measures 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; according to the People’s Bank of China, during the holiday, UnionPay and NetUnion processed a total of 39.302 billion transactions amounting to 13.12 trillion yuan, with daily transaction counts and amounts significantly increasing year-on-year.

(Edited by: Wen Jing)

Keywords: Spring Festival Consumption