About 12 percent of the respondents in China said they would choose France as their first choice without considering any limitations, such as the budget and time limit, which was a little bit more than the number of interviewees who chose the United States as their favorite last year.

Hong Kong is still the most attractive shopping heaven among the respondents. More than half of them want to have a shopping tour there, which was much more than the number of interviewees who chose Japan (2nd place) or France (3rd place).

Shanghai won fourth place on interviewees' list of "dream shopping tour destinations" for the first time. About 10 percent of Shanghai's respondents said the city they lived in is their favorite place to shop.

The survey also said Hong Kong continued to hold the champion title as the favorite city for interviewees to spend a holiday with their families, followed by Australia and the United States.

The survey said 18 percent of the high income earners, defined as having a monthly salary higher than 15,000 yuan (US$1,875), traveled overseas in the past year, while 32 percent of the respondents said they would travel overseas more frequently in the coming year.

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