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Not everyone wants a holiday, poll finds

By Xin Dingding (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-10-16 07:12

Over the recent seven-day National Day holiday, there are 146 million trips in the country, but it seems not everyone likes the idea of a week-long vacation.

In contrast, more than 50 percent of Chinese want to keep holidays as they are, a survey has found.

The poll of more than 3,100 people was conducted by China Youth Daily and sina.com last week to find out what holiday system people really want.

About 58 percent of people said the new holiday system should be a combination of both week-long holidays, so that people could travel long distances, and short holidays for gatherings during Chinese festivals. Only 13.5 percent said long holidays should be canceled, while 28.3 percent said the current system should remain unchanged.

The survey found 73.2 percent of people believe that paid holidays cannot be guaranteed in the future and public holidays are the only way to ensure long vacations.

According to the survey, 80 percent said the number of holidays on the Chinese mainland was reasonable. The problem is many people don't dare to take long vacations.

"Competition is fierce. Nobody can afford a long holiday and leave the boss with an impression of not working as hard as others," said Wang Yingchao, who works for a real estate company in Beijing.

The survey found 93 percent of people wanted to have a say in the new system before it takes effect.

China Youth Daily reported on Monday that many people felt disappointed the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) didn't seek public opinion about an issue that affects more than a billion people.

Earlier reports said CNTA had sent a draft new holiday system to the National People's Congress, the top legislature, for approval.