The "holiday economy" is an important feature of China's increasingly consumption-driven economic paradigm. During the May Day holiday this year, which ran from May 1 to 5, its consumer market was full of vitality, with tourism, culture, commerce, accommodation and transportation all blooming and contributing to the country's economic growth.

The five-day holiday recorded 314 million domestic trips, a year-on-year increase of 6.4 percent. Travelers spent more than 180 billion yuan ($25 billion), up 8 percent, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Sales from major retail and food and beverage businesses across the country registered a year-on-year increase of 6.3 percent during the holiday, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said. Many hotels reported full occupancy, with hotel accommodation consumption growing 14.9 percent over a year ago.

Tourism consumption is also witnessing more business format innovation, often enabled by technology development. The number of cultural immersive experience projects soared. Examples here are: the hanfu (the traditional attire of the Han Chinese) experience in Luoyang, Henan Province, and a ceramic study tour in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province. New consumption scenarios such as esports-ready hotels and camping plus music festivals attracted flocks of young consumers.

The inbound travel market is also making a remarkable recovery. During the May Day holiday, inbound travel orders climbed 130 percent year on year, according to online travel platform Trip.com.

Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Beijing are preferred inbound travel destinations, and the expanded visa-free entry and tax refunds upon purchase have boosted China's appeal as a travel destination. 

Online and brick-and-mortar retail was a holiday hot spot this year. According to MOFCOM, during the holiday, sales of home appliances, automobiles and communication devices at major retail businesses rose 15.5 percent, 13.7 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively, year on year. Major e-commerce platforms' sales of smart products went up 20 percent.

The number of large-scale commercial performances entertaining over 5,000 audiences exceeded 100, with total audience numbers surpassing 2 million. China's box office topped 740 million yuan ($102 million) during the holiday.

The vitality of China's consumer market during the recent holiday demonstrates the huge potential and diversified development trends of domestic consumption, which is poised to become one of the country's major economic drivers.