16:31, April 30, 2009

Travel, dining and shopping are the three major components of the shortened holiday. When it was first implemented last year, this three-day shortened holiday caught many businesses, as well as consumers, unprepared. This year, however, since the consumer market has matured day by day, people have begun to say goodbye to testing each step before taking it, or as the Chinese proverb goes, "crossing a river by feeling the stones."
Car rental business on the rise
Beijing Yitongda Auto Leasing Company's business has seen booming growth recently. All day long the company's fixed-line telephones and mobile phones of their employees have been operating at nearly full capacity. Of the inquiries they receive, economy cars such as passenger cars and Volkswagen minivans, which are suitable for family outings, are in high demand.
"In the past two days, almost all of our cars have been rented out with lease term dated for the Labor Day holiday," according to Mr. Tao of Beijing's Yitongda Auto Leasing Company.
In recent years, dramatic increases in the amount of people learning to drive has led to the emergence of a brand new group — people holding driver licenses who do not own cars. As the holiday is approaching, this group has become the main user of car rental.
With the car rental industry reaching maturity, car rental procedures have become much more simplified and car rental rates are becoming reasonable. Individuals with driver licenses that do not own cars who will rent cars to travel will be extremely commonplace during this Labor Day holiday.
According to a survey conducted by Ctrip.com on travel plans during the Labor Day holiday, of the approximately 3,000 people respondents, 80 percent expressed travel intentions with 40 percent planning to take short-distance tours in the outskirts and about 30 percent opting for long-distance travel.
Tourism promotion throughout the country
After the year-long adjustment period, the tourism industry and domestic tourists have gradually become used to the new holiday system. Short-distance travel and self-driving travel have become the most popular ways of travel during the shortened holiday.
In order to put an end to an embarrassing situation caused by "unpopular long-distance tour routes and out-of-date short-distance tour routes" last year, this year travel agencies throughout the country, after conducting market research, have launched many economical and interesting short-distance tour routes for the holiday period. Moreover, domestic scenic spots have targeted the shortened holiday with many discount rates and travel-related activities.
Local governments have also spared no effort to stimulate tourism consumption. On April 11, the program of "100 Cities Tourism Promotion Week" was launched in 186 cities. Additionally, cities including Beijing, Hangzhou and Suzhou also distributed various forms of tourism consumer vouchers. Of them, Hangzhou issued a second batch of tourism consumer vouchers worth a total of 100 million yuan before May 1.
Some places have also introduced joint tourism promotion in various forms. For instance, Changzhi in Shanxi Province, and five of its neighboring provinces and municipalities including Hebei Province and Beijing, jointly promoted the "all-purpose card" for reciprocal tourism. Consumers holding the card can enjoy a 50 percent discount when buying admission tickets for 49 scenic spots including the Old Summer Palace and the Yin Ruins.
Shops compete by providing discount sales
During the short Tomb-Sweeping Day holiday, many restaurants seized the business opportunity and offered seasonal dishes. As the shortened Labor Day holiday draws near, food and beverage enterprises everywhere have gotten ready for a new round of competition.
It was announced at the Seventh Zhongguancun International Food Festival, which opened on April 24, that starting from opening day to May 10, all of the nearly 70 food and beverage enterprises in Beijing's Haidian District that are participating in the festival are required to provide at least two 30 percent off discount dishes.
Even Quanjude, which had hardly given any discounts in the past, is pushing several discount set meals. Recently, many restaurants in Beijing have begun cutting prices in preparation of the Labor Day holiday. Sales promotions for the holiday is the largest "discount given by restaurants collectively" in Beijing in recent years.
Shortened holidays always evoke competition in industries such as household electric appliances. Prior to the arrival of the holiday, "promotion wars" between large shops including Suning and Gome have already been red hot. In order to guarantee supply, Suning Appliance (Beijing) has stored nearly 2 billion yuan worth of goods, covering tens of thousands of models in 13 categories such as refrigerators, washing machines, color TV sets, air conditioners, mobile phones, computers and household appliances, of which, 300,000 are specially-priced models.
"We will provide unprecedented low prices in the household electrical appliances market during the shortened Labor Day holiday," said Fan Zhijun, Executive President of Suning's Management Headquarters for North China.   By People's Daily Online