The Chinese government is advocating that all the country’s workers receive paid annual leave, a move which if implemented is expected to benefit Macau.
In a new report, “The Outline for National Tourism and Leisure for 2013-2020,” the China National Tourism Administration, an arm of the State Council, is promoting the policy as a way to enhance domestic tourism, according to a note to investors from Union Gaming Research.
Domestic travelers in China numbered 2.96 billion last year, UGR says, up 12.1% year on year and worth RMB2.27 trillion in revenue (US$364.2 billion).
Currently, most workers are only eligible for paid leave during legal holidays, “hence the majority of the population travels during the same period and puts enormous pressure on transportation networks and certain popular destinations like Macau,” UGR notes.
China first introduced the concept of paid annual leave via a state regulation in 2008, making it applicable to government workers along with a select group of enterprises and employees of private companies with more than one year of service. But not all employers have complied. It’s estimated that one-third of Beijing’s residents don’t get paid leave, according to official data cited by UGR, which said it expects the percentage is “significantly higher for workers in second- and third-tier cities”.
“We believe the introduction of paid annual leave will be beneficial to Macau’s visitation, as it would likely serve to smooth visitation patterns and take pressure off major holiday periods (e.g. Chinese New Year, Labor Day holiday),” the firm wrote.
RelatedPosts
