(CRIENGLISH.com)
Updated: 2007-09-03 15:59

While China's week-long National Day holiday is still a month away, many people have already started making preparations for trips during the golden travel season.

Han Kui, with China Youth Travel Service, said they have been busy dealing with travel applications starting from last week.

"Tourists who plan to visit some far away places have all started registration. Packages to some hot destinations, like Europe and Maldives have almost been booked out."

He says that domestically, Hainan, Yunnan and Sichuan are proving most popular, while Europe and Australia are the hottest overseas sites, as October is the best travel season for these destinations.

However, along with the increase in enthusiasm, travel has come a hike in the prices of holiday packages across the board, whether domestic or overseas.

China Youth Travel Service's Wang Yuan said, "As a result of the rise in air ticket and local hotels as well as transport, the price of all routes have generally risen 10 to 20 percent."

For this reason, insiders are suggesting that travelers start their trips either a few days before the holiday begins or towards the end of it if they want to enjoy substantial discounts.