Volume 3 No 1, 2005

The Implementation of China's ‘Golden Weeks Holiday' policy: A Preliminary Assessment

Brian King School of Hospitality , Tourism and Marketing Victoria University , Australia

Yu Shaohua Kunming College , China

Cam Hong Tang School of Hospitality , Tourism and Marketing Victoria University , Australia

Abstract
The enactment and subsequent implementation of the Golden Weeks holiday policy has played a key role in the emergence of a mass domestic tourism industry in China . In this paper it is shown that demand has continued its strong growth since the three short holiday periods were each extended to a week. The tourism industry was initially unprepared for the scale and intense concentration of demand, which ensued. The policy was not implemented in a systematic way and extreme crowding ensued in major cities and around the most notable attractions. The paper highlights the problem of implementing centrally directed policies in planned economies where consumers are experiencing an increase in the exercise of personal freedom.

Keywords: Holiday policy, domestic tourism, planned economies, personal freedom