With the spring festival drawing nearer, a lot of people are planning their holiday trips. But, compared to past years, there are big changes to where people are traveling.

Since the 'Golden Week' holiday appeared in China, holiday makers have been more enthusiastic than ever about travel.

During the first Golden Week of this year, the Chinese Spring Festival, there will definitely be a surge in tourists.

Now 63 countries across the world have been opened to Chinese tourists, so the choices for overseas travel are really expanding.

Zhao Yu Ping, a principal from China International Travel Service says the Tsunami disaster in south Asia has deterred intended tourists to those countries, but the overall situation for overseas travel this spring festival is not as bad as many have expected.

"It has been many years since China has begun its overseas travel service and more and more countries have opened their doors to welcome Chinese tourists. There are many choices and most importantly, people's enthusiasm for overseas travel is very high."

So far, the most popular tourist destinations are Australia, Hong Kong and Macao as the warm weather of these places is enticing to those who are really tired of constant cold.

Other destinations like Japan, South Korea, Europe and the Middle East are also good choices for Chinese.

The price shifts also vary according to the travel routes.

Zhao Yu Ping gives us more details.

"Prices for trips to Australia skyrocketed this year, with the highest rise up to 80 percent. The trips to European countries have seen the smallest rise in price and other routes all have some increase in price. The rise is mostly due to the increased travel costs during the holiday season."

Though many travel agencies are trying their best to make up for the losses caused by the tsunami, it is estimated that a 20 percent decrease of customers is inevitable.

South-eastern Asian countries are the first batch of countries to open their door to Chinese tourists, so trips to these countries are quite common among Chinese.

What's more, they are quite affordable to middle-income Chinese.

So far few other routes enjoy the same competitiveness as tours to these countries in terms of their cost performance.

(CRI.com January 12, 2005)