OUTBOUND tourist traffic from China increased significantly during the recent National Day Golden Week from September 30 to October 7, with some Asian destinations on the receiving end of a bumper crop of arrivals.
A report jointly published by the China Tourism Academy – the research arm of the China National Tourism Administration – and online travel agency Ctrip revealed that the number of travellers heading overseas during the period rose by 50 per cent over last year.
The report attributed the strong outbound demand during the eight-day holiday to the relatively robust Chinese currency, simplified visa requirements and improving air connections.
The top 10 most popular destinations during the period were Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Maldives, the US and Cambodia.
According to Ding Jianmin, assistant general manager, Shanghai CITS International Travel Service, a large share of his clients chose to visit Hong Kong and Macau this year, while business to Europe declined.
Ding said four- and 10-day trips were the most popular, while older travellers tended to spend less than their younger counterparts. Those with a penchant for buying luxury goods probably spent more than RMB10,000 (US$1,592) on average per person, he added.
Data from Shanghai Spring International Travel Service showed that the number of customers travelling to Asia-Pacific rose by 30 per cent, with prices climbing by five per cent year-on-year due to rising airfares and hotel rates. The most popular destinations were Thailand, Russia, East Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Demand for Europe and the US also grew by 10 per cent over the same period last year, with destinations such as France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Guam especially popular.
Reporting by Hong Xu
