Students get 5-9 days off from school to stimulate tourism

(Dan Tri) - Many localities in China have allowed students to take time off from school to go on winter trips with their families.

Specifically, during this "Ice and Snow Holiday", all primary and secondary school students in Jilin province will have 5 days off from Wednesday to Sunday. The specific time off will be decided by the schools.

This will not shorten students' traditional summer and winter breaks, according to local authorities.

In addition, the Jilin Provincial Education Department encourages employees in state agencies, private enterprises, and public service units to take leave during this time.

Primary school students at the playground (Photo: China Daily).

Earlier in mid-November, Altay County in the west of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region also announced an "Ice and Snow Holiday", allowing students to take a maximum of nine days off. The capital of Xinjiang also implemented a similar policy.

According to a post on the official WeChat account of the Xinjiang Culture and Tourism Bureau, primary and secondary school students are eligible for discounts (in some cases, free) on admission to ski resorts and transportation between hotels.

A short 3-5 day autumn holiday was launched last November in many provinces and cities such as Zhejiang, Sichuan, Hubei, and Guangdong, creating a significant boost to the tourism industry.

Hotel bookings have increased by 68 percent in Zhejiang and 92 percent in Sichuan, the Economic Information Daily reported late last month, data provided by online travel site Trip.com showed.

Early signs suggest the snow and ice holiday could have a similar positive impact, with popular winter destinations such as Xinjiang recording a slight increase in visitors.

Mr. Xu, manager of a hotel near the Keketuohai international ski resort in Altay, said that bookings so far have increased by about 10% compared with the same period last year during the snow season.

“We have seen more children coming to the hotel recently. Their parents brought them here for skiing during the snow holidays. Heavy snowfall caused many flights to be cancelled last weekend, and some reservations were also cancelled,” Xu said.

However, many parents booked their rooms right before the snow break started, so overall we still had more guests.”

The concept of “Ice and Snow Holidays” has been launched by China’s northern border provinces this winter, as part of a concrete effort by the government to stimulate domestic shopping and tourism amid the economic downturn.

Nguyen Khanh

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/hoc-sinh-duoc-nghi-hoc-5-9-ngay-de-kich-cau-du-lich-20251209114001883.htm