SHANGHAI: China’s New Year holiday spending last week surged past pre-pandemic levels, official figures showed, a rare bright spot for an economy struggling with sluggish consumption and deflation. Domestic spending on entertainment, dining and travel soared during this year’s “Golden Week”, which officially ended on Saturday, according to a statement from Beijing’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Sunday (Feb 18). Chinese travellers made 474 million trips across the country during the eight-day break, up 19 per cent from 2019, the ministry said – the world’s largest annual migration. And domestic spending on tourism came in at 632.7 billion yuan (US$87.9 billion), up 7.7 per cent from 2019, the ministry said. This year’s new year holiday was the country’s second…
