Holiday travels bolster world tourism industry

Chinese holidays have injected impetus into the world economy, with the just-concluded May Day holiday bringing a strong burst of tourism growth to domestic as well as overseas destinations, travel experts said.

They added that the holiday's prosperity marks the all-around recovery of the nation's tourism industry.

The holiday brought good tidings from travel agencies, which said that long-distance tour products were hot sellers over the five-day holiday, which ended on Sunday. The holiday's good performance is also expected to promote the healthier, more sustainable development of the industry.

More Chinese people chose to spend the break at overseas destinations. Travel portal Qunar said that countries and regions in and near Central Asia and in Europe were hot choices, with flight bookings to Saudi Arabia and Egypt seeing triple growth year-on-year on the platform. Flight sales heading to some European destinations, including the United Kingdom, Hungary, Ireland, Spain and Croatia, doubled at Qunar over the holiday.

The recent currency declines of the Japanese yen made the nation one of the top choices for Chinese travelers, who went on sightseeing tours and shopping sprees, according to Qunar. Traditionally popular overseas destinations such as Thailand and Singapore were also overwhelmed by Chinese travelers during the holiday.

"The popularity and prosperity of overseas destinations with shorter travel times have exceeded our expectations. I think the main reasons lie in the adding of international flights, more friendly visa policies for Chinese people, and the longer duration of the holiday," said Qi Chunguang, vice-president of travel portal Tuniu.