Chongqing - Spring Festival consumption boom highlights China's robust market potential, with Chongqing reporting a 12.4% increase in consumption from the previous year.

In a recent interview with Bridging News, Yang Pianpian, Associate Professor of Marketing at the School of Economics and Business Administration of Chongqing University, emphasized that successful cross-industry linkage strategies can drive sustained consumer spending, unlocking the full potential of domestic demand. This approach consolidates and enhances the ongoing trend of economic stability and growth.

Yang Pianpian is an associate professor of marketing at the School of Economics and Business Administration of Chongqing University. (Photo/Yang Pianpian)

This Spring Festival, integrating food, culture, and tourism significantly boosted consumer experiences and economic vitality, showing the value of cross-industry collaboration. Meituan reports a 33% increase in Chongqing's daily life service industry consumption year on year.

For example, Chongqing's New Century Department Store, which offers shopping center operation and management services, in partnership with Meituan and Dianping, launched the "Trendy Chinese New Year" campaign, boosting New Year consumption with discounts and platform subsidies.

Tourists are indulging in culinary delights in Mountain City Alley. (Photo/cqnews.net)

"Cross-industry linkage of Culture and Internet can drive cultural and tourism brands to focus on service and spiritual consumption, leading to a higher level and more sustainable positive consumption cycle," said Yang.

Merging the allure of traditional culture with digital innovation will captivate a broad audience, boosting brand visibility, consumer engagement, and expenditure on unique, appealing content and products, significantly enriching the consumer experience and driving economic activity.

Yang highlighted the Third Lantern Festival of Mountain City Alley in the 2024 Spring Festival, a tradition dating back a century when residents first lit lanterns in the alleyways to usher prosperity and ward off negative forces, thus earning it the nickname Lantern Alley. Initiated in 2021 to preserve this heritage, the festival has since achieved a brand effect through its success over the years.

The "Third Lantern Festival of Mountain City Alley - Tian Guan Ci Fu · Three Thousand Lanterns" series is held from February 2 to February 24, 2024. (Photo/cqnews.net)

The "Third Lantern Festival of Mountain City Alley - Tian Guan Ci Fu · Three Thousand Lanterns" event, from February 2 to 24, 2024, aimed to showcase new national trends, contrasts, and transformation through lanterns or Kongming lanterns.

Activities tailored for diverse audiences, including fortune gathering, lantern releasing, feasts, tours, dragon lantern exchanges, and Douyin discount coupons, enhanced interactive tourist experiences and highlighted traditional cultural charm.

Mountain City Alley collaborated with major media outlets like Xinhua, cqnews.net, People's Daily, and Toutiao and utilized platforms like Xiaohongshu, Douyin, Kuaishou, Dianping, and Weibo, achieving millions in exposure through continuous hot topic releases.

Yang reported that by February 18, 2024, Mountain City Alley's event revenue hit 6,318,581 yuan, marking a 196% surge from January, while tourist visits soared to 521,569, up 180% from the previous month.

Tourists are currently participating in interactive activities. (Photo/cqnews.net)

Integrating culture and tourism not only boosts the profile of cultural tourism brands, capturing the city's essence and drawing more visitors to explore, understand, and fall in love with Chongqing, but also drives spending across multiple sectors, including dining, lodging, transport, shopping, and entertainment.

"All of these fully unleash the potential of domestic demand for Chongqing's high-quality development, release new consumption demand, inject continuous consumption vitality, and significantly promote comprehensive economic recovery," Yang concluded.