With less than a week until Chinese New Year, many Chinese are packing their bags and heading to crowded airports and train stations all over the country. Now, the spring festival period is traditionally spent at home with family. This year though, many travelers are opting to spend the week-long break visiting holiday spots, from Paris to Phuket. But an overseas getaway - and even domestic tour packages - come at a hefty price.

Chinese new year is traditionally an occasion to be spent with family, with airports and train stations around the country clogged with migrants returning to their home towns. But in a break from tradition, more and more modern-minded Chinese are choosing holiday destinations for the week-long break.

The Chinese tourism authority forecasts that the price of outbound tours during the Chinese new year period has increased by 10 to 40 percent. And that’s largely driven by the rising cost of airfares and overseas accommodation.

For those wanting to stay closer to home, the tropical island of Hainan, or a ski resort in northern China, are popular choices.

Zhang Xiaomei, deputy managing director of Domestic Tourism of China Travel in Nanning said: "It used to cost about four thousand more yuan. But a ski trip to Harbin now costs at least 5 to 7 thousand yuan this year."

Getting a ticket - on a plane, train or bus - is one of the biggest challenges posed by travelling in the peak spring festival period. With the implementation of the train ticket identification policy, which limits the number of tickets that can be purchased by travel agencies - prices and demand are now going up.

Tang Ningning, deputy MD of Domestic Tourism of China Travel in Guangxi said: "Even since the train ticket identification policy was rolled out, it increased difficulty for group travel. That’s why a lot of customers switch to flying, but there are restrictions for airlines too. As a result, travel has become more expensive and makes it difficult for us to do business."

Meanwhile, the National Tourism Administration says Europe, the United States, Africa and Australia are the most popular destinations among Chinese tourists.

Zhang said: "Basically all outbound travel routes are fully booked for the spring festival period."

Statistics from the administration suggest that the number of travelers heading out of China during the Spring Festival period will increase by up to 60 percent compared to last year.

Source: CNTV

Editor: Liu Fang