Travelers expected to hit the road for Spring Festival from Jan 10

With less than 30 days to Spring Festival, which falls on Jan 25 next year, a large number of Chinese people, including huge number of elderly people and children, are expected to hit the road starting from Jan 10, a travel agency said.

Traditionally, most people choose to go back to their hometowns and reunite with their families.

Next year, many young people who were born in the 1980s will choose to spend the festival in their own homes and bring their parents and children to the cities where they work, according to Qunar, one of China's largest online travel agencies.

Of the total, nearly 40 percent of Chinese will choose to spend the holiday in a different place. This would be divided into 30 percent who will opt to stay in the country and 10 percent who will travel abroad.

In fact, it would be much cheaper to buy airplane tickets from smaller cities to go to Beijing and Shanghai, compared with flights starting off from major cities.

For instance, on Jan 22, 2020, an economy class flight from Beijing to Harbin, Heilongjiang province, will cost 1,600 yuan ($229). A flight on the same day from Harbin to Beijing will only cost 340 yuan, Qunar found.

"Now, more people don't care about going back to their hometowns for Spring Festival, as long as they are with the family. It would be a reunion no matter where they go," said Ren Tian, a product manager of Qunar.

During the travel period for Spring Festival next year, the number of flights booked by passengers who are aged 60 or above jumped 19 percent year-on-year, including a significant number of senior citizens who plan to travel alone.

The bookings from children who are aged 12 or below climbed 27 percent year-on-year, Qunar found, although it did not disclose specific numbers.

Haikou and Sanya in tropical Hainan province remain two of the hottest destinations. People who travel there mainly come from Shanghai and Beijing, as well as Guangdong, Heilongjiang and Sichuan provinces.

Compared with the previous Spring Festival, the number of people who have booked flights to go to Haikou and Sanya increased by 20 percent and 40 percent respectively.

Warm overseas destinations like Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and Bali in Indonesia continue to be one of the most popular go-to places for the Spring Festival revellers. The number of bookings for Phuket and Kuala Lumpur from Chinese each surged by 50 percent year-on-year.

"Chinese tourists are seeking more personalized experiences while traveling abroad. They are more willing to slow down the pace of life and enjoy in-depth and tailored trips, encouraged by their growing spending power and evolving tastes," said Dai Bin, director of the China Tourism Academy.