Spring Festival promises to be a blessing for many sectors: a travel boom for tourism, a cash infusion for telecom operators, and a buying spree for retailers.

The country's most important gala which is now just around the corner are portrayed by the Social Survey Institute of China in its latest research, which also finds that a large portion of festival-goers will also eat out.

Indeed, about one-third urban families may choose to fill the nation's eateries on the biggest meal night of the year, rather than dining at home.

The information was gathered by a survey of 2,000 people in areas ranging from Beijing in the north and Guangzhou in the south.

"Some 53 per cent of respondents said they'll spend the week-long vacation at home," said institute staffer Wang Xing.

The rest of those surveyed, she said, are choosing to take tours or will budget their time between February 9 and 15 for activities ranging from reading at libraries or working out at gyms.

Of those planning travel, only 43 per cent preferred a "do-it-yourself" mode, while the majority said they will join groups organized by travel agencies.

Zhao Yuping, an executive with the China International Travel Service, yesterday said she predicted the number of Chinese trekking to Australia, New Zealand and Europe for spring festival will surge by 30 per cent this year, as compared with last season.

"At least 600 people have booked air tickets to fly to those destinations through our agency," she said, adding that most of the outbound tourists plan to visit four to five nations in up to eight days. Among the European and African destinations are France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Egypt, for example. all the "golden weeks" in China National Day, May Day and Lunar New Year celebrations, the Spring Festival holidays are the busiest for travel agencies, she said.

Travel to the tsunami-hit Asian nations during the period may plummet by one-third, she said. In the past such trips were hot.

But with relief and reconstruction work gathering momentum, and more promotions going on, travel to the areas is expected to pick up, experts said.

Domestically, the mass homeward flows for family reunions aside, popular attractions for travel include Harbin and Changchun in the icily cold Northeast, and Yunnan and Xiamen in the perennially warm South, according to the survey.

(China Daily February 3, 2005)