Source: China Daily
04-26-2007 09:14
A record 150 million people are expected to travel during the 20th Golden Week (May 1-7), with the numbers of people traveling overseas and those using their own cars to get to local attractions both expected to rise.
A government official said that despite the huge flow of people during the Golden Weeks and the problems arising therefrom, the holiday system would remain for at least the next few years, because "there is still a lot of potential to be explored."
Wang Kecheng of the National Bureau of Statistics, said: "The system has contributed a lot to boosting domestic consumption and demand, which makes its existence necessary."
He was speaking at a press conference attended by officials from 18 government departments.
Official statistics have shown that the past 19 Golden Weeks have contributed 670 billion yuan (US$86.7 billion) to the economy.
Zhang Xiqin, deputy director of the National Tourism Administration, said: "With per capita GDP estimated to keep growing, there is a huge potential for tourism development during the Golden Week holidays."
He said that developing tourism and expanding domestic consumption and demand was good for the economy and the trade surplus, unlike investment, "which is already overheated."
But the government's decision has not won the full support of the public.