Longer weekends promoted to improve tourism

Employees should be given more flexibility in summer to take half-day vacations on Fridays, giving them extra time for weekend travel and boosting the tourism industry, the State Council suggested.

"These measures can help employees use their vacation time to travel more flexibly and avoid the peak traveling season, which would greatly ease the pressure on the transportation, tourism, commercial and catering sectors," said Wu Wenxue, deputy head of the China National Tourism Administration. "It could also tap the full potential of tourism consumption."

The lack of paid holidays has been blamed for overcrowding in many scenic spots during public holidays.