The total consumer spending of the coastal city of Qingdao in Shandong province is expected to surpass 600 billion yuan ($83.4 billion) in 2023. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The total consumer spending of the coastal city of Qingdao in Shandong province is expected to surpass 600 billion yuan ($83.4 billion) in 2023, according to statistics released by the city's commerce bureau.

In the first three quarters of 2023, the revenue of Qingdao's catering industry increased by 24.8 percent year-on-year, surpassing the city's overall retail sales growth rate by nearly 18 percentage points.

The rapid growth of the tourism industry has provided a significant boost to Qingdao's catering consumption. Statistics indicate that in the first quarter of 2023, the number of tourists visiting Qingdao exceeded the level of the same period in 2019. As one of the top 10 tourist destinations in the country, during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, 81 A-level scenic spots received more than 6.17 million visitors, a 7.7-percent increase from 2019.

During the May Day and National Day holidays in 2023, catering consumption was particularly vibrant. During the May Day holiday, the operating income of Qingdao's time-honored restaurant brand Chunhelou increased by 329 percent over the same period in the previous year, marking its best performance in recent years.

In addition to the catering industry, the retail sector has also shown a remarkable upward trend. In the first three quarters of 2023, Qingdao's retail industry saw a year-on-year growth of 12.4 percent.

The city's online retail sales continue to perform strongly throughout the year, with Qingdao's online retail sales reaching 199 billion yuan in the first 10 months of 2023, growing by 26.4 percent year-on-year, accounting for 31.7 percent of the province's total and outpacing the national online retail sales growth rate by 9 percentage points.