The Chinese government is encouraging all employers and government agencies to give their employees Friday afternoons off with pay during the summer months, in an effort to increase revenue through tourism, the Shanghai Daily reported.
A State Council circular released on Aug. 11 said that the move would give people more time to take a vacation, using Friday afternoon plus the weekend.
The circular further said that the government is set to build more tourism infrastructure that includes cruise ports and RV parks, and give employees more flexibility to arrange their vacation time to drive consumption.
According to travel agencies in Shanghai, the move might also help to ease traffic congestion and overcrowding at tourist destinations.
Ctrip, a travel agency, said that presently, a quarter of holidaymakers start their summer break on a Saturday, while only 15 percent prefer to start on a Friday.
"The half-day leave will allow tourists to start their tour earlier, thus alleviate the traffic and reception pressure of scenic spots and improve tourism quality and experience," Peng Li, a tourism analyst with the online travel operator, said.
Peng, however, said that the keys to solving the disparity between supply and demand in the tourism market would be the full implementation of guaranteed paid leave and more public holidays.
According to Peng, traffic congestion and overcrowding occur because many people do not have the time to plan their vacation properly and the Chinese people do not have many holidays.
A China National Tourism Administration official said that overcrowding was the result of unreasonable holiday arrangements.
The official cited as example the seven-day National Day holiday in October, wherein the number of people at scenic spots increased and decreased at other times when the attractions were idle.
The Shanghai Spring Tour agency said that it would develop more short-distance tour packages, as it expected the State Council circular to boost tourism.
Based on the circular, employers were also asked to ensure that holidays are paid and encouraged companies to stagger annual leave.
A report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences last year suggested that China should have longer holidays by adding two to six days of public holidays. It also asked for an extension of the seven-day Spring Festival holiday and to have the May Day holiday restored to a week, which was previously reduced to three days in 2008.
A poll conducted on news portal sina.com, which attracted more than 22,000 responders, showed that 96.9 percent were in favor of extending the Spring Festival holiday, while 86.8 percent agreed to have the May Day holiday be restored to a week again.