"Some 'hot lines' between Shanghai and Southeast Asian countries for the Labour Day holiday (May 1 to 7) were fully booked at our agency by April 10," said Wei Haicheng, a marketing manager at Shanghai Orient Travel Agency.

"It seems that out-of-country travel became hot overnight," Wei said.

Only a few local people could afford overseas trips in the 1990s, but the situation has now completely changed.

Southeast Asian destinations and Hong Kong are popular travel spots for Shanghai tourists to spend their long holidays, according to Wei's agency staff.

"The hottest destination this year is Thailand, and flight tickets are hardly available after April 15," Wei explained.

The number of local tourists to Hong Kong and Macao in the first quarter of this year hit a record of 100,310, up 19 per cent from the same period last year, according to Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administrative Commission statistics.

The numbers also reveal that a record 26,822 local residents made overseas trips during the week-long Spring Festival holiday in February, a 9.6 per cent increase over the same time last year.

"The number of Shanghai's outbound travellers for the Labour Day holiday in May will be no less than that in the past Spring Festival," a market staffer surnamed Ge with Shanghai Qiangsheng International Travel Service said.

Ge also revealed that the price for outbound travel, on average in Shanghai, will likely go up 20 per cent during the May holiday.

"What we are trying to do is facilitate and guide Shanghai people's overseas trips," said Zhu Chengrong, director of the International Tourism Development Department with the commission.

"Obviously, local demand for overseas travel has begun to surge," said Zhu.

According to Zhu, tourism in a city is set to enter the "fast-lane," when the local per capita gross domestic product (GDP) reaches US$800 to US$1,000.

Shanghai's per capita GDP exceeded US$5,600 in 2003 and is expected to hit US$10,000 by 2010, according to a local government work report.

"Currently, domestic travel still remains a main choice for local residents but the potential for outbound travel is enormous," said Zhu.

"Shanghai people are fairly popular in Malaysia because they are considered very polite and are big consumers," said Chen Mingxu, marketing manager at the Culture and Tourism Sector with Consulate General of Malaysia.

The exact number of Shanghainese travelling to Malaysia isn't available, but Chen pointed out the increase in Chinese tourists to Malaysia mainly come from the country's major cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

This year, Malaysia is expected to receive about 500,000 tourists from China's mainland, exceeding 340,000 in 2003 and 450,000 in 2002, Chen said. China has become Malaysia's fourth largest tourist source in Asia after Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

"The China market is recovering rapidly since SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)," said Zheng Rong, of Singapore Tourism Board's Shanghai Office.

In 2003, Singapore received 568,000 Chinese tourists, only a 10 per cent decrease from 2002 despite SARS, according to the board statistics. Figures also show that in the first two months of this year, tourists to Singapore exceeded 13,000.

"Shanghai is a major target market for our promotion. Many Shanghainese now choose to purchase electronic products, perfume, cosmetics and high-grade clothes when traveling Singapore," Zheng said.

In another development, some Europe-based airlines have increased, or will increase, flights from Europe to China this summer. The move, insiders say, is stimulated by the milestone tourism memorandum of understanding signed by the China National Tourism Administration and the European Union (EU) earlier this month to facilitate Chinese group tours to Europe.

Chinese tourists going through selected travel agencies will benefit from new procedures for visas from a dozen member EU States which have been granted "Approved Destination Status" (ADS) by China.

China Eastern Airlines also launched three flights weekly between Shanghai and London beginning on April 1, in addition to its existing flights from Shanghai to Paris, Madrid, Brussels and Munich.

Domestic travels

Compared to popular outbound trips, domestic travel seems a little bit "cool or more reasonable" this year but remains a main part of local tourism.

A recent survey by the Shanghai Statistics Bureau shows 30 per cent of local families travelled outside the city in the past year, but only 2.2 per cent of the families went abroad and 1.8 per cent toured Hong Kong or Macao.

As for the upcoming Labour Day holiday, many Shanghainese tend to take the week as an opportunity of having good rest at home. A survey by Market-Expert (Shanghai) Consultant Corporation conducted earlier this month shows that nearly half of the local residents say they will go nowhere and rest at home.

Still, many others will travel around the city or to southern parts of China, according to a recent survey by a Shanghai-based travel website.

The survey showed that around 80 per cent of Shanghainese who intend to travel outside the city in the Labour Day holiday will choose to visit Zhejiang Province or southern cities like Sanya of Hainan Province, Guilin of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Xiamen of Fujian Province and Lijiang of Yunnan Province.

In addition, the survey also showed that 73 per cent of local people say they will travel by themselves. Some local people plan to drive to Jiangxi and Fujian.

"We will further facilitate local residents' travels around the city or to neigbouring areas in the holiday," said Zhu.

| China Travel Update |