Debate ignites over proposed expansion of school spring breaks

Amid recent calls from prominent figures in the industry to extend the school spring break system nationwide, Chinese netizens find themselves embroiled in a heated discussion.

The primary questions under consideration are the practicality of such an expansion and whether it can help alleviate tourism congestion during public holidays while boosting the domestic tourism market.

Liang Jianzhang, chairman of the board at the renowned tourism giant, Trip.com Group, and Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, jointly penned an open letter on Oct 8, coinciding with the conclusion of the eight-day Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays.

In their open letter, Liang and Dai cited statistics from Trip.com Group, highlighting the remarkable popularity of the tourism market during the summer season. They pointed out that many hotel rooms were sold out, and securing reservations at popular attractions, like the Forbidden City, became a formidable challenge.

Furthermore, they underscored that family-based tours accounted for about half of the trips taken during the summer, resulting in a considerable increase in the cost of tourism and a less-than-ideal tourism experience. This, they argued, was leading some tourists to seek international destinations.

Drawing examples from France and the United States, the two experts suggested that China expand its spring break system, currently limited to a select few schools, including Renmin University of China. Their proposal involved schools shortening their summer or winter holidays and redistributing several days of vacation time to coincide with the May Day holiday, creating a weeklong spring break suitable for outings.

Parents would be encouraged to take their annual leave during their children's spring break, thus alleviating the pressure on summer and winter holidays. The experts further recommended the introduction of an autumn break if the spring break plan proved successful.

Liang and Dai emphasized that the intended spring break would be a peak period for tourism and cultural industries. During this time, students and parents were likely to increase spending on tourism and outdoor activities, potentially contributing to the economy's growth and alleviating the pressure on summer holidays.

This proposal sparked a lively discussion on Chinese social media platforms. The hashtag "experts suggest adding spring breaks for students" garnered more than 25 million views on Sina Weibo, with many students expressing their support.

However, some parents remained skeptical, arguing that spring breaks would have limited value if they could not enjoy their annual leaves properly.

Liu Deqian, a consultant for the Tourism Research Centre of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, highlighted that many parents had to work to make a living, making it challenging to care for their children during spring breaks. To address this, schools would need to arrange interest-based activities such as arts or calligraphy sessions.

In response to inquiries from legislators and political advisers in 2020, the Ministry of Education noted that schools could adjust holiday schedules as long as they adequately covered the curriculum and teaching hours. However, based on the experiences of a few schools that had implemented the spring break system, the Ministry expressed a "positive but cautious" stance, indicating that nationwide expansion would require further research.