Dai Bin | The Spring Festival holiday he wanted has arrived, and reunion tourism is suitable for both - Review of holiday arrangements for some festivals and anniversaries in 2024

To implement the people's rights to rest, vacation, and tourism, it is necessary to steadily increase the number of statutory holidays and paid vacation days, and to continuously improve and optimize holiday arrangements based on listening to public opinion, in order to better meet the people's aspirations for a better life. Especially during the Spring Festival, which carries family reunion, worldly fireworks, poetry, and distant places, how many days of vacation should we have? How to put it? Can I be with my family on New Year's Eve? Should I take compensatory leave after the holiday? How to make up for it? They are all hot topics that are highly anticipated and eagerly anticipated by millions of people. The upcoming the Year of the Loong Spring Festival will usher in a 9-day "Super Golden Week". Reunion and tourism are both suitable, which is exactly what you want for the Spring Festival holiday. On October 25th, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Notice on the Arrangement of Some Holidays in 2024" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), which came earlier than previous years. For many years, the release date for holiday arrangements has been basically the end of November or early December of the previous year. For example, the holiday arrangement for 2023 was released on December 8, 2022, and the holiday arrangement for 2021 was released on November 25, 2020. The reason why it was released one month earlier this year is also to respond to the expectations of all sectors of society in a timely and effective manner, truly achieving the call of the people and the response of the government. It is gratifying that compared to previous years' documents, this year an additional sentence has been added: 'Encourage all units to implement systems such as paid annual leave and arrange for employees to rest on New Year's Eve.'. Paid vacation is a legal right of employees and an important component of people's better life. However, due to various reasons, this system has not been widely and fully implemented. In July 2022, with the approval of the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism jointly issued the "National Tourism and Leisure Development Outline (2022-2030)", which clearly proposed to optimize the distribution pattern of statutory holidays, promote the rapid development of tourism and leisure, further popularize paid leave, delegate the power of holidays to individuals for arrangement, and promote the balanced development of tourism and leisure activities. The Notice encourages all units to make unified vacation arrangements when people need them the most, which is a practical innovation of the State Council's promotion of paid annual leave system. This means that employees can take a vacation on New Year's Eve, February 9th, plus 2 weekends (February 10th and 11th), 3 extended Spring Festival holidays (February 12th, 13th, and 14th), 2 borrowed weekends (February 15th and 16th), and 1 Saturday (February 17th), in fact forming a 9-day "Super Golden Week". Add in 3 days of New Year's Day, 3 days of Tomb sweeping Day, 5 days of Labor Day, 3 days of Loong Boat Festival, 3 days of Mid-Autumn Festival and 7 days of National Day. It should be said that this is the best holiday arrangement for annual festivals and anniversaries. Based on the feedback from previous research, government agencies and enterprises have responded positively to such holiday arrangements, and the majority of employees have warmly welcomed them. Some employees also plan to extend their Spring Festival holiday through "holiday sharing". Whether it is the short-term Spring Festival holiday arrangement or the medium to long term paid vacation system arrangement, the institutional innovation significance of the "Notice" is very obvious. The holiday arrangements for the 2024 Spring Festival and six other festivals and commemorative days have also minimized interference with the normal work and rest rhythm of employees. Since the formation of the 7-day "Golden Week" during the 1999 National Day holiday through the "move forward and move backward" policy, employees have been looking forward to the holiday, which allows them to travel and relax with their families, as well as stimulate consumption, promoting physical and mental health and social harmony; On the other hand, they also worry about holidays. Scenic spots, expressways and railways are congested, and popular tourist destinations have higher prices, difficulty in buying tickets, parking, and going to the toilet, which has repeatedly become the object of roast from tourists. Especially with 8 days of concentrated vacation and 7 consecutive days of work, many people exclaimed that they couldn't bear it. It is worth noting that in 2024, there will no longer be a situation of working continuously for 7 days before and after holidays, which maximizes the protection of the normal work rhythm of the people. From the current situation, this is also an acceptable plan in all aspects. Considering the factors of off peak travel and secondary travel, such holiday arrangements will also maximize the safety, stability, orderliness, and high-quality operation of the holiday tourism market. It can be expected that the Spring Festival of the the Year of the Loong on Jiachen will be a happy and peaceful Spring Festival, as well as the most active tourism and consumption hot Spring Festival. In history, the Spring Festival was a traditional holiday for returning to the New Year and family reunion. With the addition of reunion and New Year greetings, there was not much time left for employees to travel. Due to this reason, the number of tourist trips during the Spring Festival holiday is lower than that of the National Day holiday, and on a comparable scale, it is also lower than that of the Labor Day holiday. From the perspective of tourism expenses, the high budget for dining, shopping, gifts, and other expenses has a more significant driving effect on the tourism economy. The 9-day Spring Festival holiday in 2024, combined with the holiday on New Year's Eve, can fully meet the needs of family reunion, visiting relatives and friends, and local leisure, while also leaving more ample time for travel. With more people traveling and increased consumption, the tourism economy will have a good start in the new year. If expectations are stabilized and confidence is boosted, it can drive investment and employment, making greater contributions to economic growth and social development. Since 1999, the country has been continuously optimizing holiday arrangements, including increasing the number of traditional holidays and continuously optimizing holiday arrangements. The number of holidays for national festivals and anniversaries is the central authority and is determined by the National People's Congress. According to the Measures for Holidays on National Annual Festivals and Memorial Days, the holidays of the people throughout the country include New Year's Day, the Spring Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day, Labor Day, Loong Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day, with a total of 11 days off, plus 5-15 days of paid leave for employees, as well as marriage leave, maternity leave, home leave, and legal holidays in ethnic minority areas. In general, they are compatible with the current situation of China, and can basically meet the needs of the people for home visits, vacations, and tourism. With the development of the economy and society and the improvement of living standards, while people expect more statutory holidays, they also hope that the government can introduce more reasonable holiday arrangements to ensure the normal work pace of the people. Every year during the "Two Sessions", representatives of the National People's Congress, members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and experts and scholars put forward relevant suggestions and sparked heated discussions. The Spring Festival is not only a traditional holiday, but also a peak period for tourism and leisure. The vast majority of employees hope to have two more days off to spend with their families on New Year's Eve and Spring Festival, and have a longer time to travel. This time, the central government encourages all units to arrange for employees to rest on New Year's Eve, which is a good start. We believe that with the improvement of various conditions, the country will further optimize the holiday arrangements for festivals and anniversaries, and continuously improve the satisfaction and sense of gain of the people.

Author | Dai Bin

Editor | Xue Shiyi

Manuscript Review | Yang Liqiong

Source | China Tourism Research Institute (Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism)

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