China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) spokesman Liu Xiaojun said Tuesday that the organization is formulating a national leisure plan. Pilot programs will include the distribution of travel coupons in some areas.

The aims of the plan are to improve people's quality of life, stimulate domestic demand, promote the development of the leisure industry, and speed recovery from the economic downturn. But some sources speculated that the plan will not be issued in the near future.

Travel coupons

Travel coupons have been distributed by governments in Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Shandong. The Beijing Tourism Administration distributed 50,000 free tickets to scenic spots during the Spring Festival. Ningbo gave away 30 million yuan of air travel coupons, hoping to reap a boost in consumption of 8,000 million yuan. A 20 million yuan distribution of coupons in Guangdong is hoped to bring in about 1.7 billion yuan of profit.

Leisure badly needed

A recent survey showed that 56.6 percent of Chinese people hope the plan will extend paid leave to more employees. 90.7 percent "care" about the plan and 46.8 percent "care a great deal" about it.

"I have been longing for some time off. The government wants to use the plan to expand domestic demand and stimulate the economy, but for ordinary people, what really matters is that having a rest and calming our nerves," a 28 year-old white-collar worker said. "Even machines need repair and maintenance after a long time operation. It is time for people to take a break."

The average working day in Beijing is 7 hours and 35 minutes, longer than America, Japan or Britain.

Unscientific leisure habits

Experts say Chinese people have little idea how to use their time off. Surveys show they spend their leisure time unscientifically. Unlike people in developed countries who prefer activities like sunbathing or playing sports, Chinese people tend to watch TV, surf the Internet, go to restaurants, sleep or play mahjong.

Sociologist Xia Xueluan said that if leisure just means shopping, traveling or surfing the Internet, it will just make people more tired and create little benefit.

Quality of life

To improve their quality of life, some experts think ordinary people need to be taught how to enjoy themselves. The government should force firms to implement paid annual leave and firms should provide a pleasant working environment to improve workforce morale and efficiency.

Wang Ping, chairman of the Tourism Chamber of Commerce said the quality of life of the whole nation could be improved and domestic demand stimulated, if people learn how to enjoy themselves properly. "The plan is not to ask people to be spendthrifts or wreck the environment, but to encourage them to relax and enjoy life in an environmentally-friendly way." 　

Gao Shunli, an official from CNTA, also stressed that the first goal of the plan would be to improve people's quality of life; stimulating the economy would be a secondary consideration.

(China.org.cn by Fan Junmei, March 25, 2009)