National Day tourism to set new records

The water town of Suzhou and Chongqing's Fengdu Ghost Town are among the hot tourist destinations during public holidays. [Photo by Yang Feiyue/China Daily]

Outbound travel surged 14 percent to exceed 4 million tourists last National Day holiday, the Shanghai-based tourism-consulting service Gold Palm reports.

The Chinese passport's growing weight, the expansion of flight routes and exchange-rate fluctuations have continued to buoy China's outbound tourism over recent years.

Chinese can enjoy visa-free entry or visas on arrival in 57 countries and regions.

Those that recently relaxed visas, such as Morocco, Tunisia and Tonga, have seen the influx of Chinese visitors increase 300-600 percent, Ctrip reports.

The increase in flights to neighboring nations like Japan has pushed down prices.

Long-haul destinations, including France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia, are 20-30 percent cheaper than during the holiday last year. The number of Chinese visitors is expected to increase 40-60 percent, Ctrip says.

The pound's depreciation, following the Brexit, continues to boost Chinese travel to the UK.

Chinese are expected to visit South Korea for shopping and health checkups.

They'll head to Japan to enjoy hot springs and red maple leaves. But the rise of the yen against the yuan may put a damper on retail.

Still, the holiday seems set to qualify as a "golden week", as it has long been colloquially known, not only for travelers but also for destinations.