It is expected that a record number of nearly 6 million, highest ever, Chinese tourists will be traveling around the world during the Spring Festival holiday season starting on 7 February 2016.
According to a report on Spring Festival tourism outlook released by Ctrip, an online travel service provider in China, more than 60 percent of Chinese travelers would travel to a foreign country during the Spring Festival. The Antarctic is the farthest destination they would travel to, the report said.
As far as the Chinese outbound tourism industry is concerned, Spring Festival is a peak season though traditionally it represents family reunion time. In 2015, overseas visits by Chinese tourists totaled more than 120 million. Out of this, 5.18 million overseas visits were made during the Spring Festival, representing a 10 percent increase from the previous year.
The reasons for the increase in overseas visits by the Chinese tourists can be attributed to the relaxation of visa requirements, introduction of preferential policies that are focused on facilitating overseas consumption, and better flight connections.
According to Yan Xin, one of the publicity officers at Ctrip, overseas destinations such as the U.S., Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan that have made the visa application procedure simple for the Chinese have seen increased bookings. Yan Xin also noted that the Chinese travelers would visit over 100 countries and territories during the seven-day Spring Festival holiday season.
Ctrip’s report also showed that out of the top 10 overseas destinations for the Chinese eight are in Asia and include South Korea, Thailand and Japan. The reason that some countries around Asia have a Spring Festival culture which is similar to that in China. The top 10 overseas destinations as far as Chinese tourists are concerned are Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia.
