This aerial photo taken on March 13, 2023 shows cherry blossoms in Tangbu Village of Yuhang District in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province. The cherry blossoms in full bloom attracted many tourists.(Photo: Xinhua)

As the temperature climbs up and spring weather arrives, interest and spending on outdoor activities, blossom tours and seasonal delicacies is rising, unleashing new vitality into the Chinese economy.

Buoyed by spring blossom tours, the domestic tourism market is poised to see a wave of travel  spending, according to various online tourism platforms.

As of March 6, bookings for flower viewing tours and related attractions had surged 880 percent year-on-year in March according to Trip.com. 

In some famous destinations, homestay accommodation and hotels location near flower viewing sites, such as Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu Province and Wuyuan, East China's Jiangxi Province are in short supply and were being booked at least half a month in advance, according to online travel agency Lvmama. It predicted that the peak season for flower tours will last from mid-March to early April.

Warmer spring weather has made "camping" a trending keyword in searches on all major platforms as more people are willing to spend their weekends and leisure time outdoors.

According to Meituan, searches for camping surged 450 percent year-on-year in early March, with Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province and Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province among the most popular camping destinations.

Surging demand also boosted related businesses such as cafés, canteens, accommodation and games rooms. Data from Mafengwo showed that since March searches for "camping sites" were up 350 percent year-on-year and searches for "camping trip planning" had soared 350 percent year-on-year as young people take greater interest combining camping with other leisure activities such as appreciating flowers, listening to live music and holding tea parties.

Seasonal food such as spring bamboo shoots, cherry blossom flavored food and drinks, and pink packaging snacks have also proven to be popular spring foods. 

Some famous brands are taking advantage of the trend by offering "cherry blossom flavored latte," "cherry blossom flavored ice cream," and even "cherry blossom flavored potato chips." Some supermarkets and fresh markets are promoting pre-prepared spring vegetables such as spring bamboo shoots, vegetables which are also popular among young consumers.

China's consumer spending is expected to further accelerate after retail sales rose 3.5 percent year-on-year in the first two months of 2023, Zhou Maohua, an economist at Everbright Bank, told the Global Times on Thursday.

As the impact of the epidemic diminishes and consumer confidence picks up, previously suppressed demand for goods and services especially those in retail, transportation, catering, cultural travel, accommodation will be released, Zhou said.

At the same time, the excess savings of domestic households and policies support to promote consumption will provide strong support for the recovery of consumer spending, Zhou added.

Global Times