Opinion / Forum Trends

Should Golden Week be scrapped?

( bbs.chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2014-09-28 07:45

Boilermaker21 (US)

I am well aware that the idea of traveling and being able to take vacations is a fairly new concept in China, but China really does need to rethink this. For one, outside of China, no one celebrates National Week. Global business continues to operate, and it is difficult to function when all Chinese partners are on holiday. Secondly, it is absolutely ridiculous that 1.3 billion people should be on holiday at the exact same time. Any tourist site within China is beyond crowded and price gouging is commonplace. Train tickets are next to impossible to obtain. Flights out of China are typically higher. Traffic on major highways can be at a standstill. Not that the Western systems are perfect, but many foreign companies allow their employees to plan their vacations at their leisure. Most vacations have to be planned and pre-approved in advance, but employees leave in staggers. Business functions uninterrupted. Employees can choose to vacation during "off season" times and save money. Employees can choose to do things when they want to, not when the calendar says they have to.

Should Golden Week be scrapped?

Tourists visit the Dujiangyan scenic area in southwest China's Sichuan Provinc, Oct. 4, 2013. China's 125 major scenic spots received 31.25 million visitors during the seven-day National Day holidays from Oct. 1, up 6.8 percent from the corresponding period last year. Tourism income surged by nearly 10 percent from 2012 to 1.66 billion yuan (271.24 million U.S. dollars). (Xinhua/Xue Yuebin)

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