East China's Shanghai recently experienced a double dose of holiday cheer, with the coinciding this year of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day celebrations – bringing joy and festive vibes to every corner of the city and galvanizing its economy.

According to statistics, Shanghai experienced a strong upsurge in consumer spending during the eight-day holiday from Sept 28 to Oct 5, taking the total outlay to an impressive 44.92 billion yuan ($6.15 billion).

Sales of electronics products rocketed, surging 103.8 percent year-on-year. Spending in department stores jumped 57.3 percent, while sports and leisure goods saw a 26.4 percent increase. Consumer spending at convenience stores leaped by 17.8 percent.

What's more, the just-completed combined Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday gave a boost to the city's retail outlets and dining establishments, with 35 key commercial areas welcoming a total of 37.89 million visitors.

That marked a hefty increase of 34.6 percent compared with the same period last year and an impressive 19.8 percent growth compared with 2019.

Additionally, spending by non-local tourists in Shanghai hit 16.3 billion yuan with 18.04 million consumption activities, representing an increase of 18 percent and 30 percent, respectively, compared with last year.

China UnionPay Merchant Services Co Ltd, based in Shanghai's Pudong New Area, estimated that all the areas of tourism – including food, accommodation, transportation, tourist activities, shopping and entertainment – generated a total transaction amount of 29.24 billion yuan during the holiday period.

This represented a substantial increase of 29.7 percent compared with the previous year.

Moreover, the average occupancy of star-rated hotels in the city was 52.7 percent, 4.5 percentage points higher than last year. Overall, the statistics are said to strongly indicate that Shanghai's cultural and tourism industry has recovered after being affected by the pandemic over the past three years.