Holiday travel still strong in China

BEIJING, Jan.20 -- The global economic downturn

won't stop Chinese people from traveling during the upcoming Lunar New Year,

according to a survey releasedMonday by New York-based Nielsen.

Nielsen, a leading global information and media

company, conducted an online survey in China, which found that more than half of

respondents on the mainland plan to travel during the Spring Festival, up 10

percent from last year.

Taiwan residents are also motivated to get moving

during the holidays, with 46 percent of respondents planning to travel. The

majority of respondents in Hong Kong, however, are choosing to holiday at home -

only 35 percent said they will travel during this holiday.

"China's Lunar New Year is the most important holiday

for Chinese families. Therefore, economic downturn doesn't stop the Chinese from

traveling. In fact, it seems that it will be greater than last year when travel

was affected by unprecedented snowstorms," said Grace Pan, head of travel and

leisure research at the Nielsen Company in China.

However, the economic slowdown has started to affect

holiday spending. The report revealed that about 46 percent of respondents on

the Chinese mainland and 50 percent of Hong Kong respondents are planning to cut

down on spending while on holiday.

"In these challenging economic times, Chinese

travelers are looking for ways to save," Pan said.

Sanya, in Hainan province, has become the top

destination for domestic travel, with 21 percent of respondents planning to have

a warm holiday on beautiful beaches, followed closely by Lijiang (17%), in

Yunnan province.

For outbound travel, Hong Kong is the most popular

destination with six in 10 outbound travelers planning a visit there. Taiwan is

the second-most popular outbound travel destination, and the top five was

rounded out by Macao, Japan and South Korea.

In contrast, long-haul destinations like France, the

UK and other European countries have dwindled significantly in popularity, with

only 3 percent of consumers planning to visit France compared with 12 percent

last year.

(Source: China Daily)