The long holiday system should be continued and further developed, Zhang Xiqin, deputy director of the China National Tourism Administration, said yesterday.

China began to implement the seven-day long holiday in 2000, by combining three legal holidays of the Spring Festival, Labor Day and National Day vacation with the nearby weekends.

Zhang said when the average Chinese GDP surpassed US$1,000, tourism began to develop more quickly. Traveling needs enough time, so the long holiday has created more opportunities for household tours.

He said the long holiday system not only promoted tourism growth, but also provided golden chances for relevant industries, such as hotel, retails and entertainment.

(Xinhua News Agency September 23, 2005)