Golden Week for tourism operators as prices soar

By Wang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-22 08:47

Book your holiday this week and save up to 50 percent on air and hotel costs.

This is the message from Beijing travel agents who are preparing for the biggest National Day holiday rush in China's history.

Authorities estimate more than 200 million people will travel during the holiday period, 13 percent higher than the same period last year and tourism revenue is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan.

The record number of travelers and the extra long holiday period has created perfect conditions for travel operators.

However travel agents say transport and accommodation costs will soar up to 50 percent from this weekend. And the most popular destinations are the most expensive.

For example, a five-day, four-night tour from Beijing to the sea resort city Sanya, Hainan province in south China will jump by 50 percent to 4,680 yuan.

TUI China, the first China-foreign joint venture travel agency with the German travel giant TUI, said it will raise the prices of domestic tours from 5 to 50 percent from next Monday because of the huge demand.

TUI China marketing manager surnamed Pei said popular cities were the most likely to rise.

"Yunnan, Sichuan, coastal cities like Xiamen and Sanya, and the Three Gorges Dam Cruise are among the most popular destinations for foreigners," he said.

However, Tang Yibo, holiday service director of the largest Chinese online travel agency, said there were still opportunities to score great deals.

"The coming couple of days are the best time to get the best deal before the National Day," he said.

He said the prices of tours to coastal cities such as Xiamen, Sanya and Qingdao on Ctrip are 25 to 30 percent lower than offered last month.

Four star or five-star hotels in tourist cities such as Hangzhou and Qingdao are also giving discounts of up to 40 percent this month.

Prices for domestic tours in September are between 10 and 30 percent lower compared to the National Day holiday prices, a manager from BTG International Travel & Tours surnamed Zhang said.

Because the National Day holiday is the longest public holiday this year, many people choose to travel for leisure or relaxation.

The National Tourism Administration said a new survey showed that almost 92 percent of people said they would travel during the National Day holiday, compared to only 47 percent who traveled during the May Day holiday.