China Schools Autumn Holidays: Tourism, Household Spending To Get Boost

Until this year, only a few Chinese cities allowed schools to take an annual autumn break. But that’s changing fast. In recent months, at least 27 additional cities have introduced fall holidays, with more likely to follow. The goal: give families extra time for travel and, in turn, spark consumer spending.

The strategy is already paying off in Foshan, a southern Chinese city that rolled out a three-day autumn vacation in November. According to Guangzhou Comfort International Travel Co., travel inquiries from Foshan parents surged immediately after the break was announced. Staff were overwhelmed, working overtime and even seeking backup from the company’s Guangzhou headquarters.

“It was much hotter than the November before the pandemic,” said Zheng Zihua, an employee at the agency. Data from the company showed that travel from Foshan jumped more than 50% year-on-year, with families accounting for over three-quarters of the bookings.

Beijing has long encouraged local governments to adopt both spring and autumn school vacations. Under the current system, students only receive summer and winter breaks. If Foshan’s policy were implemented nationwide, Bloomberg estimates it could add nearly $50 billion to China’s annual consumption — roughly 0.7% of last year’s retail sales.

Other provinces are seeing similar momentum. During the autumn break, hotel bookings in Zhejiang increased 68%, while flight reservations rose 22%, Trip.com data showed. In Sichuan, hotel bookings soared 92% from a year earlier.

For local governments facing budget constraints, this approach offers a low-cost way to stimulate spending. “They can promote consumption without directly funding it,” said Larry Hu, chief China economist at Macquarie Group. Still, he believes broader demand-side measures — such as higher social security payouts, tax incentives, and property market stability — remain essential.

China has made boosting household consumption a key priority this year, especially in the services sector, which includes tourism and entertainment. Service-related retail sales climbed 5.3% over the first 10 months of the year, even as goods sales slowed for five consecutive months. Economists say this sector holds vast untapped potential, accounting for only 21% of GDP compared to more than 40% in the U.S.

However, not all families are happy with the sudden rollout of new school holidays. The main concern: adults in China typically receive very few paid leave days — often just five days a year for those with under a decade of experience.

Some parents, like Chengdu IT worker Joanna Xiao, said their children spent the break at home because both parents couldn’t get time off. Others turned to school-organized “study tours,” which can be costly.

In Foshan, parent feedback pushed the education bureau to promise free childcare services for families unable to travel. Authorities have also begun surveying parents about future spring and autumn break schedules.

Economists expect the overall consumption boost from these school holidays to be modest, but the experiment reflects China’s broader push to unlock new sources of domestic demand.