Over 700 million trips expected during holiday season
Koh Chang in Thailand. [Photo/IC] |
Oversea market may witness a record number of Chinese tourists at this holiday, especially in wake of weakened US dollar against Chinese yuan. Southeast Asia countries including Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are in high demand for short-haul vacationers, and US, Canada and Australia, are popular among long-haul holiday makers, according to booking data from Tuniu, a travel service provider.
Highly rated reality show Chinese Restaurant staring Zhao Wei, Huang Xiaoming and other famous celebs will attract large number of Chinese tourists to an island in Thailand this holiday. Ctrip data show bookings to the show's shooting location -- Koh Chang -- rose by 260 percent.
Game of Thrones has made Morocco and Croatia popular destinations among Chinese tourists, too. Box office winner Wolf Warriors Ⅱ will send many to African savannah, with visitors joining tour groups bound for Kenya jumping by 64 percent.
Beyond movie and TV appeal, there are some newcomers. Portugal, Hungary, Czech and Israel are expected to see more Chinese tourists.
Most Asian countries may be favored, but not South Korea this time. Chinese reserving trips to the neighboring country fell by about 70 percent compared with last year, data show.