As consumers stay put, Jinan readies for extraordinary festival

Extremely low temperatures, icy winds, cold waves hold no terrors to Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, anymore as a booming winter economy spells big business opportunities, even as efforts are on to promote rational consumption amid the epidemic situation.

As sporadic COVID-19 cases continue to emerge across the nation, the Jinan municipal government appealed to the residents to remain in the city to celebrate Spring Festival during the holiday period. That is expected to bring new growth points for local merchants.

Li Lin, 28, a bank teller who works and lives in Jinan, away from her parents who live in Dezhou, a city about 100 kilometers away, said: "During this Spring Festival, as we were advised to stay in Jinan, I plan to get some winter leisure, such as soaking myself in hot springs with my friends."

Li has already chalked out a solid holiday plan. "We have booked a villa for one night during the festival at a hot spring resort. The three-tiered villa offers a space of around 200 square meters and can accommodate four people. There is a hot spring inside the villa. We intend to make full use of it.

"The rent is around 3,500 yuan ($540) per day, which I think is reasonable for the holiday period. After a year of hard work, my friends and I are all looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the hot spring."

Yu Guofu, deputy general manager of Shanghe Hot Spring Base in Jinan, said the company started preparations for Spring Festival in January, more than a month in advance.

"By Jan 15, reservations for family reunion dinner on Lunar New Year's Eve reached nearly half of our accommodation capacity, and reservations for the hot spring were also on in full swing."

According to the company, in spite of the epidemic situation, the hot spring-related sales for the three-day New Year holiday were relatively satisfying. On Jan 1, the first day of the holiday, there were around 1,000 visits, 40 percent higher than that on Jan 1 last year.

"However, visits last holiday dropped by 30 percent from the 2019 New Year vacation. Although our hotel occupancy rate increased by 75 percent from the level in 2019, total sales revenue, covering hot springs, accommodation and catering, decreased by 7 percent, as some guests did not stay overnight but limited their winter consumption to day-time activities like hot springs, reflecting a more rational trend due to the epidemic," Yu said.

Apart from local merchants, the Jinan municipal government is carrying out measures to ensure those spending their Spring Festival locally have a good time.

To stimulate consumption around Spring Festival, the Jinan Bureau of Commerce launched a series of measures.

Teng Zhichao, deputy head of the bureau, said at a news conference that the authorities concerned have been urging merchants to optimize their festival contingency plans, which should ensure adequate market supplies for consumers from different consumption bands.

"We are also offering guidance to merchants on enhancing the organization ability of goods, guaranteeing the supply of commodities in short supply, expanding the procurement of popular commodities, enriching the types of commodities, in order to help the holiday market thrive with adequate supplies," said Teng.

Hu Chuncai, founder and general manager of UI Sharing, a Shanghai-based consulting firm, said that in spite of the influence of COVID-19, China's winter economy has great potential, as people's living standards have improved and are more diversified in consumption demand now.

"Owing to the epidemic situation, it was suggested that merchants should have a long-term vision. While offering diversified goods and services to consumers, they should also take measures to ensure epidemic prevention and control," he said.

Yu from Shanghe Hot Spring Base said the facility has been strictly implementing epidemic prevention and control requirements, such as disinfecting the public area five times a day, offering free sanitation gel and masks to visitors, and keeping a distance of at least 1 meter between tables.

"Every dish we serve is made from traceable materials, and every hotel room in the resort goes through infrared sterilization, to ensure the safety of both customers and our employees," he said.