Why do 1.3 bln people go on vacation at the same time?

After an eight-month wait, the Chinese people were finally allowed an eight-day holiday in the beginning of October. More than 228 million people packed into trains, planes and hotels, spending more than 100 billion yuan (US$14.74 billion). Retail sales over the holiday reached 570 billion yuan (US$83.5 billion), up 35 percent over last year.

Tourists enjoy sightseeing trip in Zhengzhou City, central China's Henan Province during the 8-day golden tour week of the National Day Festival.

China's peculiar system of "golden weeks", which sees the entire country trying to take a holiday at the same time, was introduced by former Premier Zhu Rongji in 1999 to try to persuade the thrifty Chinese to spend money and get the economy moving. There are now two main golden weeks, one around the October 1 National Day, the other at Spring Festival (Chinese New Year).

Golden weeks see a mad dash for the train stations and airports with tickets almost impossible to obtain, and have been heavily criticized by experts. Professor Lin Jiang of Sun Yat-sen University says the purpose of holidays should be to improve the quality of life, not to boost economic growth. A leisure researcher at Tsinghua University said, "China has 1.3 billion people. Is it really necessary for them to all take a holiday at the same time?"

Tourism revenues soared in the first ten days of October but did the people who queued for hours to enter overcrowded scenic areas and leisure facilities really enjoy themselves? Surely the main point of taking a holiday is to relax.

Golden weeks should be judged in terms of culture and civil rights not just as a tool to boost consumption. In any case, shopping while on holiday is not the main component of consumer spending in normal market economies. A more balanced approach would better serve public welfare.

It's time to take a rational look at the "golden week" system from the point of view of public leisure. The country needs to move to a system of paid leave which would allow families to choose when they want to take a holiday. This would allow China's tourism industry upgrade itself from a holiday provider into a genuine leisure industry.

China is getting richer, and demand for leisure is growing. Leisure is becoming a basic right of modern life and a significant component of human rights in a harmonious society.

As countries develop, when GDP per capita reaches US$2,000 to US$3,000, a leisure industry begins to appear. When it reaches US$10,000, a leisure society begins to emerge. China is reaching that stage and arguments about the "golden week" are, at root, about how to guarantee the right to leisure.

When the system of "golden weeks" is reformed, as eventually it must be, the reform should concentrate on respecting the public right to leisure. At root this is an argument about rights.

(This article was first published in Chinese at china.com.cn and translated into English by Zhou Jing.)