China News Service, February 18 (China News reporter Song Yusheng) During the Spring Festival holiday, the vitality of catering consumption accelerated, and catering markets in various places welcomed a "good start in the Year of the Dragon."
Data from the China Cuisine Association's "Research on Catering Enterprise Operations during the Spring Festival Holidays of the Year of the Dragon" show that from New Year's Eve to the eighth day of the first lunar month (February 9-17), the average daily operating income of the catering enterprises surveyed increased by 12% compared with last year's Spring Festival. Passenger traffic increased by 11% compared with last year's Spring Festival.
Shanghai’s catering industry spent 5.93 billion yuan during the Spring Festival this year, an increase of 16.3% compared with the same period last year. During the Spring Festival holiday in Jiangsu Province, the total retail sales of the catering industry reached 14.173 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.1%. The revenue of catering companies monitored by the Henan Provincial Department of Commerce increased by 35.4% year-on-year. The transaction volume of the retail catering industry in Hubei Province increased by 27.61% year-on-year, and the average daily transaction volume increased by 28.15% year-on-year. The number of transactions among more than 200,000 catering merchants in Guangxi during the holidays increased by 7.6% year-on-year, and the total transaction volume increased by 9.0% year-on-year.
Data map: "Kilometer Long Banquet" Intangible Cultural Heritage Folk Culture Festival in Zhongshan Ancient Town, Jiangjin, Chongqing. Picture/Visual China
Research from the China Cuisine Association shows that during this year’s Spring Festival, many catering companies innovated innovative ways to attract customers. For example, a hot pot catering company co-branded the movie "Hot and Spicy" and launched a Spring Festival limited package "Hot and Spicy Reunion Meal"; a catering company launched a new limited-edition Year of the Dragon couplet sticker, as well as a "New Year's Eve dinner set" and "Baby" New Year's vegetable gift boxes such as "New Year's Vegetable Gift Pack" and "Grassland Beef and Sheep Gift Box"; there are also fast food restaurants carrying out blessing packages and gold brick lottery activities; there are also catering companies launching new Spring Festival dishes "Dragon Luck Brings Good Luck and Happy New Year".
In addition, the Spring Festival holiday is a concentrated period for New Year's Eve dinners, family dinners, and various gatherings and banquets. While catering companies are making every effort to promote consumption, they also insist on practicing strict economy and opposing food waste. (over)