China Holiday Travel Surge Hints at Consumer Spending Pickup
- Train and other travel see strong increases from last year
- Other spending data mixed amid weak consumer confidence
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A resurgence in travel over China’s Lunar New Year holiday is offering some signs of a consumer spending pickup in the world’s second-largest economy as it struggles with low confidence and deflation.
More than 61 million rail trips were made in the first six days of the national new year holiday, according to official reports. That was the highest in data compiled by Bloomberg News in the last five years, and it marked a 61% increase over the same vacation period in 2023.