Only a few Chinese cities permitted schools to take a fall break until this year. However, at least 27 more people have joined the list in recent months, and more may be on the way.
Officials are setting aside days off from Sichuan in the southwest to Zhejiang province in the east, hoping that families will take advantage of the opportunity to travel or at the very least send their kids on school-sponsored excursions.
Authorities are using a new tool to encourage households to spend more money by allowing them to take time off from school, all at minimal expense to local budgets. And if the city of Foshan in southern China is any guide, China might not have to wait long for the rewards.

In November, Guangzhou Comfort International Travel Co. received a flood of inquiries from families looking for something to do during the three-day school break that Foshan had instituted. The Foshan branch's resources were stretched to the point where it had to request additional personnel from the travel agency's Guangzhou headquarters due to the high volume of business, which forced employees to work overtime and cut breaks in half.
Zheng Zihua, an employee of the organization, stated, "We were a bit flustered when we had to handle the policy of autumn breaks for the first time." "It was even hotter in our business than it was in November prior to the pandemic."The most recent modification came after Beijing repeatedly urged municipalities to implement school holidays in the spring and fall in order to "improve the environment for consumption." Students in elementary, middle, and high schools in China are only granted two vacation days each year—summer and winter—under the country's present educational system.
Based on the spending patterns observed over previous holidays of comparable duration, Bloomberg calculated that if Foshan's policy extended countrywide, it might increase annual consumption by nearly $50 billion, or 0.7% of last year's total retail sales.
But since adults in China only get a few days off annually and many are concerned about using up all of their paid vacation options, not all parents are on board.Nevertheless, the endeavor has yielded early results. The most recent data from Trip.com, which Bloomberg received, shows that over the autumn vacation, hotel reservations from Zhejiang climbed 68% compared to a year before, while airline reservations increased 22%. Hotel reservations in Sichuan increased by 92% over the previous year.
Allowing students to take a break also has the added benefit of saving money for local governments, who frequently have to pay for Beijing-led projects.
According to Larry Hu, chairman of Macquarie Group Ltd.'s China economics division, local governments can encourage spending in this way without directly subsidizing it. However, "demand-side stimulus, such as raising social security payments, providing tax breaks, and stabilizing the real estate market, will be key to expanding consumption."

In the first ten months of the year, retail sales of services have already grown by 5.3%, making them a bright light in a consumer market plagued by deflation and low confidence. On the other hand, growth in goods sales has decreased for five consecutive months, falling to 2.8% in October, one of the longest such streaks in recent memory.
According to estimates by Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, services-related spending makes up only 21% of China's GDP, compared to over 40% in the US, indicating unrealized potential.

Zhang Jingjing, chief macro analyst at China Merchants Securities, wrote in a note last week that the ruling Communist Party will likely make the services sector "a key policy focus" of its next five-year plan.According to Zhang, "the main problem with services consumption is the insufficient supply of consumption options, an area where the government can take action."
China is still behind in that area. In an attempt to attract more international visitors, authorities have so far this year increased consumer product subsidies, implemented national childcare subsidies, and extended visa-free travel to additional nations.

By altering school timetables and leaving families on their own, critics wonder if officials are continuing to take a piecemeal approach.

During a mid-November holiday, Xavier Lei, a high school teacher in Chengdu, Sichuan, gave his students no schoolwork, but he was still concerned that they had few options for recreation.
Lei stated, "Parents can't travel out themselves because they don't have days off."With so few holidays available, it is understandable why some parents are dissatisfied with the arrangement. People in China who have worked for up to ten years usually only receive five days of paid yearly leave, which is half of what Americans with comparable job experience are entitled to. During the three-day autumn holiday, Joanna Xiao's daughter, a Chengdu primary school student, was limited to staying at home and reading books.

Xiao, an IT professional, stated, "It's impossible for a family with both working parents to get some time out to accompany the kids." The family found it challenging to alter their plans because "the policy was announced very suddenly," she said.

The education bureau in Foshan clarified that schools will offer free childcare services for those who are unable to travel with children in response to parents' public feedback. Last week, it also released an online survey asking parents about their thoughts on the policy and the dates and length of the spring and fall breaks.
According to Louis Kuijs, chief Asia-Pacific economist at S&P Global Ratings, the impact of ongoing school reforms on consumption may be "modest, once the possible negative effect on other holiday spending is taken into account."
Nevertheless, it is representative of a quest for novel solutions as an experiment in powering a consumer society.