(Yicai) Nov. 28 -- Several of China's 31 provincial-level regions, including Sichuan, Guangdong, and Jiangxi, have begun to distribute coupons for culture, tourism, vehicles, and household appliances to boost consumption before the end of the year.

Guangdong will hand out tourism-related vouchers worth CNY100 million (USD14 million) and offer 1 million discounted tickets for scenic spots and 1 million cheaper flights, it announced yesterday. The southern coastal province will also provide 10,000 hotel rooms at favorable prices and subsidize phones, computers, kitchen appliances, and other electronic purchases, it noted. 

Shenzhen and Guangzhou, Guangdong’s provincial capital, will also further relax the application qualifications for car purchase quotas.

China’s southeastern Jiangxi province will issue nearly CNY20 million (USD2.8 million) for vehicle purchases from Dec. 1, giving buyers CNY3,000 (USD421) toward the cost.

Consumer price gains slowed in 17 provincial-level regions last month, as short-term demand was weaker than supply, Yang Chang, chief analyst at Zhongtai Securities’ research institute, told Yicai.

Sanya, a popular travel destination in China's southern Hainan province, will start distributing a third batch of duty-free vouchers to visitors, giving them a discount of CNY1,600 on goods worth more than CNY20,000 (USD2,806), it said yesterday.

Sichuan province will work with platforms and vendors to give out about CNY500 million of coupons for dining, shopping in department stores and supermarkets, and buying furniture and home appliances. Last month, it said that between Sept. 1 and March 31, banks will offer offline consumer loans to locals for home redecoration and renovation as well as cars, electronics, electrical appliances, furniture, and other goods, with its financial department providing interest subsidies. 

In addition, the southwestern province will sponsor newly-added flights and air routes for the winter, give travel agencies rewards for bringing in visitors, and lower motorway tolls for small passenger cars traveling to the province from other areas in order to boost local tourism. 

Retail sales of consumer goods in China rose 7.6 percent to CNY4.33 trillion (USD607.8 billion) last month from a year earlier due to last year's low base of comparison, according to Fu Jiaqi, a statistician at the National Bureau of Statistics.

The figure had climbed 5.5 percent in September, showing consumer capacity and willingness still need further improvement, Fu noted, adding that the recovery in consumption of essential goods still lags, and some merchants and trading firms still face significant operating pressures.

Editor: Martin Kadiev