Tills Ring out for Hotels And Caterers

Consumer spending in the hotel and catering industry jumped 23% in the first two months of this year despite rising food prices.

Domestic hotels and restaurants generated 254.57 billion (US$35.9 billion) yuan in sales, contributing 14.5 percent of the total retail sales in the period, the Ministry of Commerce said on its Website yesterday. The growth was 6.1 percentage points higher than the same period of last year.

Sales for January rose 23.3 percent to 133.6 billion yuan while February saw a 23-percent jump to 119.9 billion yuan, the ministry said.

About 111 foreign-funded hotels and restaurants were set up in the two months, a rise of 7.8 percent from a year earlier. Foreign direct investments gained 8.4 percent to US$160 million.

A ministry official attributed the sales to the Lunar New Year and soaring consumer prices.

China's retail sales also surged 20.2 percent to 1.74 trillion yuan in the first two months.

The country's consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, surged 8.7 percent in February from a year ago.