China targets coupons and ‘silver economy’ to boost tourism

A woman she visits the popular Qianmen tourist area in Beijing on January 13, 2025. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP)

Beijing, China — China announced on Monday new measures to promote spending in its culture and tourism sectors as its economy struggles to shake off sluggish consumption.

A property sector crisis, high youth unemployment and low consumer confidence have been depressing consumer demand in the world’s second-largest economy.

Beijing has announced a raft of policies since September, including removing property buying restrictions, cutting interest rates and providing subsidies for household items, to try to kickstart the economy.

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But they have so far failed to encourage greater consumer activity, with inflation remaining stubbornly low.

The new measures, released by China’s State Council, aim to “enrich consumption formats and scenarios… and cultivate culture and tourism into pillar industries”.

The measures call on local authorities to offer coupons, reward schemes and discounts to promote spending, and to increase investment in cultural and tourism products.

They should also target different age groups by “optimizing parent-child entertainment services” and “develop the silver economy” with tourism and cultural products for the elderly.

Domestic tourists spent 2.7 trillion yuan ($372 billion) in the first half of 2024, up 19 percent on the previous year, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism — a rare bright spot for the economy last year.

The State Council measures also targeted foreign tourists, calling for expanding the scope of “visa-free countries and appropriately extending visa-free periods”.

China has unilaterally offered visa-free access to citizens from dozens of countries, including France, Germany, and Australia, from December 2023.

According to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, China received more than over 94 million overseas visitors in the first three quarters of 2024, up 79 percent year-on-year but still below pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels.

The new policies come days before China is due to release its 2024 economic growth data.

President Xi Jinping has expressed confidence that China had achieved its official growth target of around five percent.