Thailand, Singapore top Chinese tourists’ ‘golden week’ list as Hong Kong falls out of favour

Extended National Day holiday also sees a sharp rise in demand for tailor-made holidays, according to industry survey

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Travellers line up to head off on holidays at Beijing Capital International Airport on Sunday. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 7:30pm, 2 Oct 2017Updated: 10:51pm, 2 Oct 2017

More Chinese are opting for tailor-made holidays rather than group tours or independent travel for the National Day “golden week” break, according to an industry survey.

About 11 per cent of holidaymakers booked custom holidays over the eight-day break this year, compared with less than 1 per cent in 2016.

For those travelling overseas, Thailand topped the list of international destinations, followed by Japan, Singapore and Vietnam.

Thailand accounts for a fifth of overseas bookings by Chinese tourists during the National Day holiday, according to a national survey. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong, traditionally popular with mainland visitors, was just sixth on the list of offshore destinations, followed by Taiwan. Hong Kong hotel operators said bookings were strong this year, although younger travellers were often choosing to spend just a few days in the city before leaving for other destinations.

The biggest loser in the foreign destination popularity contest was South Korea, which failed to make the top five after ranking first in the category a year ago. Beijing banned package tours to South Korea in March following Seoul’s decision to deploy a US anti-missile system.

Younger people accounted for the largest proportion of respondents in the survey, which was conducted by online travel agency Ctrip and the China Tourism Academy, a government think tank.