Shopping trips to nearby Asian destinations are becoming more popular with the approach of Christmas and the New Year.

According to Shanghai International Travel Service, many customers are already signing up for shopping groups to Hong Kong and Singapore, the most popular destinations for local shoppers.

"Many brands will be on sale there, and sometimes the discounts can be 50 percent," said Zhao Dexiang, general manager of the company.

He said the shopping tours are mature routes that have run for years. The agency often cooperates with tourism authorities in the destinations or brand's direct distributors, and then, makes out price lists as recommendations for customers.

"Usually these tourists go to big local shopping malls in advance to be acquainted with the prices here, and run straight to what they want when traveling abroad," he said.

Hong Kong Dragon Airlines, which offers at least 12 flights a day from Shanghai to Hong Kong, said a small boom can be expected starting from next month to the end of the Spring Festival.

"Since festivals come one after another, we offer new flights and discounts of more than 1,000 yuan (US$120) to attract more passengers," said an official with the airlines.

Tours to European countries like France and Germany can not replace Hong Kong or Singapore as shoppers' first choice in the short run, local businesses said.

"The temperature is low in Europe now, so people will still prefer the warmer East and Southeast Asia," said Zhang Kangmei, manager of Shanghai Workers' International Travel Service. Packages to Hong Kong and Singapore are priced at 2,000 yuan to 3,000 yuan, while tours to Europe cost around 10,000 yuan.

"So it's really too lavish if just for shopping only," Zhang said, adding that it's impossible for them to design tours to only one European city for shopping, as most locals are only willing to spend on European trips that include many countries.

But she said they plan to adjust some of their products for the coming festival season, for example, to include a stay in Paris for a day or two of shopping.

(Shanghai Daily November 23, 2004)