BEIJING - Commerce authorities of Beijing said Monday that the nighttime catering spending in the city during the three-day Qingming holiday registered a 50 percent surge year on year.

From Friday to Sunday during the Tomb-sweeping Day holiday, also known as the Qingming Festival, 60 major retail and catering companies in Beijing registered a sales revenue of 1.79 billion yuan ($266.5 million), up by 6.2 percent from the previous year.

At the same time, catering expenditure during nighttime hours, from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am the next day, surged nearly 50 percent, with categories such as snack food, drinks and barbecue being the most popular.

Bankcard spending by tourists from outside the city in such terms as catering, tourism, accommodation and grocery shopping reached 340 million yuan, up 23.9 percent.

The nighttime economy is becoming Beijing's new driver for consumption. According to the city's government work report released in January, Beijing will urge malls, supermarkets and convenience stores to stay open later.