Three women tourists enjoy a walk by the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Feb 23. [Photo/China Daily]

Well-educated and well-paid single Chinese women were at the forefront of a boom in travel by the country's women in 2010.

According to the 2010 Trend Report of Women's Travel, the amount of travel by Chinese women increased by 20 percent last year, with well-educated and well-paid single women becoming the main force in the tourism market.

Travel expenditure per capita by women on the Chinese mainland was 4,300 yuan ($655) in 2010, and the 20-percent year-on-year rise was much larger than the 9- percent increase for men.

Qunar.com, the world's largest online travel search engine in Chinese, released the report. The Beijing-based site was launched in 2005.

According to Dai Zheng, vice-president of Qunar.com, women's growing spending power has led to more of them choosing travel as a way to cosset themselves, especially well-educated and well-paid single women, who travel for relaxation and self-improvement.

Zhang Jing, 31, who works for a consulting company in Shanghai and earns nearly 20,000 yuan monthly, spent 15,000 yuan on travel last year, including a trip to the Tibet autonomous region in Southwest China and another to Singapore.

"Travel not only releases work pressure, but also opens up my horizon on the world. I like to see and experience how others live," said Zhang, who plans to visit Thailand in May with two female friends who are both around 30 years of age.

"Women are active in all of our travel projects. I definitely feel that it's mostly women who are interested in our products," said Zhao Huijin, who works in the booking center of the E-commerce department of China International Travel Service (CITS).

Zhao's remarks to China Daily were echoed by the report, which said more than 65 percent of decisions about travel products and travel expenditure were made by women.

In addition, women tended to be more demanding of hotels, and preferred to comment and find fault with hotels. On the forum at Qunar.com, women made nearly 70 percent of the comments on hotels.

Women's more active participation in travel means that when the industry's decision-makers develop new travel products they take greater note of women's views about travel.

In recent years, products targeted at women have appeared, such as women's hotels, certain hotel floors especially reserved for women, and travel themed around shopping, healthcare and relaxation.

Le Meridien, a five-star hotel in Xiamen, Fujian province, set up a floor tailored for women customers in July 2010.

Adding to the high quality of certain facilities that women care about most, such as excellent sound insulation, the 32 suites on this floor are also equipped with products especially for women, including fresh fruits, low-calorie food, yoga mats, bath salts, facial masks and hangers for silk clothes.

"These rooms are warmly appreciated by ladies, and we hope to meet women customers' needs both physically and psychologically through appropriate care," said Wang Yan, assistant manager of the hotel's marketing and communication department.

The report also revealed that women's choice of destination is strongly influenced by fashion. They enjoy traveling to scenic spots featured in the latest romantic movies and TV dramas.