Record numbers leaving mainland during Spring Festival

World tourism destinations are expected to see nearly 6 million visits by Chinese tourists, possibly the highest number on record, during the coming Spring Festival holiday that begins on Feb 7.

Ctrip, a leading online travel service, released its tourism outlook for Spring Festival on Thursday. The report said more than 60 percent of Chinese tourists will spend Spring Festival overseas. The farthest destination is the Antarctic.

Spring Festival is one of the peak seasons for the Chinese outbound tourism industry. Despite being a traditional season for family reunions, many have chosen to spend the holiday traveling. According to the China National Tourism Administration, Chinese tourists paid more than 120 million visits overseas in 2015, with 5.18 million of those paid to foreign countries and regions during Spring Festival, an increase of 10 percent year-on-year.