The spokesman for the National Tourism Board Liu Xiaojun confirmed on 23 March that a national holiday plan is being drafted, but denied that the national May Day Long Holiday is going to be re-instated any time soon, explaining that the long term impact as much as the immediate benefit to the economy would need to be assessed carefully.

Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces were the first to have taken the initiative to issue free vouchers to attract tourists in a bid to stimulate consumption. This has sparked a nationwide debate as to whether the national May Day Long Holiday should come back again. The seven-day holiday was reduced to three days last year partly due to the tremendous pressure on the national transport infrastructure when millions of people travelled around the country at the same time. Some people have also pointed out that these tourist vouchers, paid for by taxpayers, are given only to people who can afford to travel. They called on the central government to take control and distribute such vouchers more fairly.