South Asia becomes popular destination for Chinese tourists during National Holiday

BEIJING – It now comes to the end of the “golden period” during which Chinese customers plan and book their trips for National Holiday that begins from 1st October and that lasts for a week. According to the statistics collected from several main travel agencies in Beijing, there is a major decrease on the booking numbers of travel products to Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan areas. On contrast, South Asia catches more attention and becomes the first in growth rate. Meanwhile, purchases of European, North America tours remains stable.

Although raising price due to the introduction of new tourism law has influenced customers’ choices, their preferences of island travel are hardly affected. According to Yang Yang, General Manager of Spring Tour International Travel Service Co., Ltd., the sales performance of Phuket Island, Samui Island, etc. remains high this year.

South Asian countries such as India, Nepal, Sri Lanka which were seen to be less attractive over the past surprisingly become hotspots this year. Deputy General Manager of China Women Travel Service, Hu Yang explained that Nepal tours have always been "pure visiting" without shopping or self-paying products, thus their prices stay almost the same. Furthermore, as Hu Yang indicated, destinations such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, etc. have gradually been recognised and accepted by Chinese tourists these years. As a consequence, the booking volume of South Asia travel products during National Holiday doubles this year compared to that of last year.

Meanwhile, rises on the price of European and North American tours during National Holiday are not significant. On the other hand, price is not considered as a decisive factor in terms of consumers who choose to travel to Europe or North America.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews