Lower prices lure post-holiday travelers

World
Europe

01:51

After the week-long Spring Festival holiday, prices of several popular overseas routes have seen major drops. And that, together with smooth traffic, lead to more post-holiday travels in China.

Some popular overseas routes now cost less than half what they were during the Chinese New Year.

For example, a six-day tour to Hokkaido from Shanghai cost more than 15,000 yuan (about 2,215 U.S. dollars) during the holiday, but is now selling for around 6,000 yuan (886 U.S. dollars). Domestic trips have also seen prices falling, some by 13 percent.

The price drops are mainly the result of cheaper flight tickets and more available hotel rooms after the holiday travel rush. Experts estimate prices will be low for about a month following the Spring Festival.

“From our experience, starting from late March, the weather gets better and more people are planning trips overseas. That's when the prices gradually go back up,” noted Yan Weiwen, deputy manager at Jinjiang Travel.

VCG Photo

People have also begun to arrange their post-holiday trips a bit earlier, based on information from online travel agency Ctrip.

“This year, we started to sell tour packages for the early spring cherry blossoms in Japan even before the Spring Festival. And so far about 30 percent of them are already booked. Trips to Thailand in March are also popular. We are seeing a lot of customers ordering post-holiday trips to get a better deal,” said Fang Zexi, business manager at Ctrip.

The most popular early spring overseas destinations for Chinese travelers this year are Japan, Southeast Asian countries, Australia, and China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.