BEIJING, 27 January (BelTA - Xinhua) - China's week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which began Friday, is set to become a "Golden Week" for overseas tourist destinations as this year more than 6 million Chinese chose to spend the holiday abroad.
The Lunar New Year holiday is usually a time for family reunions and celebrations, but now as more and more Chinese travel overseas, the China National Tourism Administration described it as a "global Golden Week."
Since the year 2000, China lengthened its three major public holidays -- Spring Festival, May Day and National Day -- from three days to seven days. They soon became known as "golden weeks," when people can travel and gather with families, boosting travel and hospitality sectors' revenue.
Based on a survey conducted by the administration, the United States was the most popular long-haul outbound destination during the holiday, followed by Britain, Spain, Germany and Switzerland.
Australia, New Zealand and Thailand are attracting the most Chinese tourists as medium- or short-haul destinations, while China's Hong Kong and Macao remain the major nearby destinations, according to the survey.
According to a report by Ctrip, a travel website, Chinese tourists are expected to spend 100 billion yuan (about 14.5 billion U.S. dollars) in total over the week.
