Overseas travel favored for May Day holiday

Chinese tourists prefer travel outside China over domestic travel for the upcoming May Day holiday, according to travel agencies.

Islands in Southeast Asia are still the most popular destinations, said Zhu Lei, head of the overseas sea island department at BTG International Travel and Tours.

"During the May Day holiday, besides popular places like Bali of Indonesia and the Philippines, the Sabah line in Malaysia also greatly benefits the Southeast Asian market. Tourism products for Malaysia are all sold out," said Zhu.

Industry insiders said high prices for some domestic tourist lines might be one of the factors in tourists choosing overseas travel over domestic travel.

"The number of people signing up for driving tours around Beijing decreased by 30 percent from last year, which may be caused by the bad weather or the shrinking of the market," said Guo Yue, general manager at Easytour Holiday Travel Agency.

Travel agencies said tourism in earthquake-struck Sichuan province has been greatly impacted. For example, tourists cannot go to the Emei Mountain, which is close to Ya'an city.

"The Ya'an earthquake weakens the whole Sichuan tourism industry a lot, and the impact will last for quite a long time, mainly due to the psychological effect," said Zhong Hui, president of China Environment International Travel Service Co.