According to an article that Guangming Daily published, the box office revenue for summer movies has been lower than expected and the quality of the domestic and foreign new movie releases has been poor. According to the article, the total box office revenue for movies for July was 4.5 billion yuan (US$0.67 billion), up 17 percent from June but down 18.2 percent from July of 2015. The article stated that the revenue drop was the first in the past five years. The reported average growth rate had been at 30 percent year after year over the last five years. In addition, the box office revenue for July is an indication of a slowdown in the box office market in China. Based on the current trend, the revenue for the full year is expected to be lower. The article pointed out that, even though the box office revenue grew 21 percent in first six months in 2016 versus 2015, it is far less than the average growth rate over the past five years, which was at 30 percent.

Source: Guangming Daily, August 22, 2016
http://culture.gmw.cn/2016-08/22/content_21571745.htm

In a recent article, Xinhua reported that, as of July, Chinese consumers’ spending overseas had continued to drop for five consecutive months. The statistics for July indicated that Chinese tourists’ spending overseas dropped by 23 percent, an increase over the drop of 18 percent in June. The slowdown of spending drove the 13 percent drop for tourism in the world market. The European market saw a decrease of 20 percent due to concerns about terrorist attacks. Meanwhile Chinese tourists’ spending in Asia continues to grow. Korea has surpassed Japan and become the favorite country for tourists, mainly due to spending on cosmetic and plastic surgery products.

Source: Xinhua, August 22, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fashion/2016-08/22/c_129244240.htm