1 week Ago
Tourists flock to the Louvre Museum in Paris on May 3. (FENG YONGBIN/CHINA DAILY) Travel abroad was popular for Chinese tourists during the recent May Day holiday, and they traveled further to some niche destinations like Saudi Arabia, in addition to traditional hot spots like Southeast Asia, industry players said. During the five-day holiday that lasted from May 1 to Sunday, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore were among the top 10 overseas destinations for Chinese travelers, as the latter three Southeast Asian countries all adopted visa-free entries for Chinese visitors, said Qunar, a Beijing-based online travel agency.
The total booking volumes of international flights and overseas hotels for the May Day holiday both hit new highs on the platform, Qunar said. Saudi Arabia, Spain, Hungary, France, Austria and Italy saw significant growth in the number of travel product bookings on a yearly basis. In addition, some Chinese tourists booked trips to Murmansk, Russia; Athens and Santorini in Greece; as well as some smaller cities in Spain and Portugal, the agency said.
"For traditional popular overseas destinations such as Japan, France, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, Chinese travelers are no longer satisfied with simple sightseeing, and increasingly have been exploring small towns in-depth," said Xiao Peng, a researcher with Qunar's big data research institute. Chinese visitors arrived at Burgundy, France — a renowned wine cultivation region — or Otar.
