Southeast Asian holidays popular around Spring Festival for Beijingers

Beijingers are likely to rush for the exit during Spring Festival, with jaunts to Southeast Asian countries set to be the most popular, thanks to pent-up demand carried over from last year and the possible relaxation of visa restrictions.

Chinese visitors enjoy their time at a zoo in Malaysia. Tours to countries in Southeast Asia are likely to be more popular than ever this year as Beijingers leave the city for some warmer weather during the Spring Festival. [China Daily]

Yu Xiaoping, manager of the Chongwenmen branch of China Comfort Travel Group Co, said there has been a surge in people looking for such trips.

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"The number of travelers has risen by 30 percent," she said.

Beijing Mytour International Travel Agency, which is in the top 10 of Chinese agencies offering trips to Southeast Asia, has sold around half of its holidays to the region, helping 3,100 people book trips for the first two months of the year.

"Many Beijingers delayed their travel plans because of the H1N1 flu virus during 2009 but we predict that the accumulated demand will release during the upcoming Spring Festival," said Guo Yu, assistant general manager of Beijing Mytour International Travel Agency.

Sightseeing trips to Southeast Asia cost between 4,000 and 5,000 yuan during Spring Festival.

"From December to February, there will be 42 chartered planes flying to Southeast Asian countries, especially to some island resorts, such as Phuket in Thailand, Bali in Indonesia and the Maldives," Guo said.

"For those islands alone, there are more than 13,000 additional seats on aircraft compared to the same period last year."

The unprecedented exodus follows years when demand greatly outstripped supply. This year, Beijing tour operators have increased the number of holidays they are offering.

Dai Bin, deputy director of the China Tourism Academy, said Beijing's outbound tourism market shrank by 27 percent during the first three quarters of 2009.

"Starting from the fourth quarter, the market has been getting hotter," Dai said. "I expect a two-digit increase during Spring Festival."

"I think Beijing agencies are quite optimistic about selling out all those 13,000 additional plane seats. If we make it, the total number of clients bound for Southeast Asian countries this year will go up 20 percent," Guo said.

One of the reasons why so many Beijingers plan to head south during the holiday is the fact that it may soon become easier to get a visa.

After the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area on Jan 1, China's Commerce Ministry and its ASEAN counterparts have been working on making it easier to travel within the zone.

While the exact timing of the new policy is not clear, many Beijingers, especially young people, are expecting travel to become easier and cheaper.

"Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia are my dream places to spend the winter," said Zhu Zhuo, 29, president of a local advertising company.

"Beijing's winter is cold and dry. I prefer to spend my Spring Festival in a warm place, especially a place where you can see the sea.

"If this visa-free policy takes effect, it will definitely cut my cost and shorten my preparatory days," he said.

Wang Wei, from the Tourism Authority of Thailand Beijing Office, said Thailand already offers a free visa. The expiry date of the new policy is March 5.

"Usually, we will ask for 230 yuan per person in visa fees but, starting March 5 last year, people have not had to pay visa fees. But still, applying for a visa is necessary," Wang said.

"We don't know when the visa-free policy will come out, it depends on the two countries' governments."

Southeast Asian countries have been the favored destination of Beijingers for the last six years. On average, between 40,000 and 50,000 people travel to the region each year, according to statistics collected by Mytour.