Chinese flocking to South-east Asian destinations for Golden Week

WARM and relaxing South-east Asian destinations are preferred by Chinese outbound tourists for the upcoming Spring Festival Golden Week from February 18 to 24.

Outbound travel agencies across China are reportedly busy with reservations since mid-December, with many indicating that island destinations are the most attractive in South-east Asia.

Mao Sairong, assistant manager, Wuxi-based Jiangsu Kanghui Travel Service, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “Bali (and the Maldives) are already sold out, but we still have plenty of Phuket tours to offer, because there are seasonal charter flights between Wuxi and Phuket.”

Bangkok is the leading South-east Asian destination for outbound China travels for Golden Week, according to ForwardKeys’ air reservation database as of January 3, 46 days ahead of the festival.

The Thai capital is also by far the only city among the top five enjoying year-on-year growth (19 per cent) in current bookings, followed by Singapore, Phuket, Bali, and Chiang Mai.

However, Bali is suffering a 24 per cent year-on-year decrease in early-bird bookings, unlike the year before.

“About 35 per cent of arrivals to Bali during 2014’s Chinese New Year Golden Week were booked within 45 days (ahead of the first travelling date), while destinations in Thailand saw way more cancellations than bookings,” said ForwardKeys CEO, Olivier Jager.