The determinants of the 1999 and 2007 Chinese Golden Holiday System: A content analysis of official documentation

This study examines the factors that lay behind the development of the Golden Week holiday system in China in 1999 and 2007. It does so by evaluating three dimensions, namely (a) dominant government policy, (b) the pattern of tourism demand and (c) the degree of public participation in the policy making process. Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies are used in a content analysis of 45 related documents. The results indicate that while little relationship existed between the demands of tourism and public policy in both 1999 and 2007, the requirements of social policies and a greater role being attributed to public participation in the policy making were more emphasized in 2007. The theoretical contributions and practical implications of this study are also addressed.