Chinese tech giants from ByteDance to Meituan see surge in ‘golden week’ consumer spending

Major online platforms for dining and travel-booking services recorded increased expenditure by mainland consumers during the annual holiday

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Mainland consumers splurged on travel and dining services provided by major online platforms during the annual break. Photo: Bloomberg

Ben Jiangin BeijingandCoco Fengin Beijing

Published: 9:00pm, 8 Oct 2024

Chinese tech giants providing dining and travel-booking services saw consumer spending surge on their platforms during the “golden week” National Day holiday, according to data released by on-demand local services firms including Meituan and ByteDance-owned Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

During the first five days of the annual break, which ran this year from October 1 through October 7, spending on in-restaurant dining booked via Meituan grew 41.2 per cent over last year, according to Chinese media reports that cited data from the Beijing-based company.

Chinese consumers also splurged on hotel reservations, overseas trips and holiday packages via popular online travel agencies (OTAs) that include Trip.com and Alibaba Group Holding travel-booking platform Fliggy. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

Outbound travel booking and holiday packages – which bundle flight tickets, hotel stays and dining – grew by more than 50 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, during “golden week” on Fliggy, according to a statement from the platform.

Customers at a restaurant on Nanjing East Road in Shanghai on October 2, 2024. Photo: Bloomberg

On Trip.com, average daily orders related to outbound travel reached a historic high over the same period, according to a post published by the popular OTA on WeChat, without elaborating.

Meanwhile, overall hotel reservations on Douyin more than tripled, while short-distance cruise trips arranged via the platform increased 123 per cent, according to a statement from the ByteDance unit.