北欧与北非成中国游客新宠

This summer, more Chinese tourists are traveling to countries in north and east Europe. And surprisingly, North Africa has also become new hotspot.

The summer holidays are coming to an end, but that doesn’t spell an end for tours abroad.
Travel agencies are seeing a surge in holiday makers wanting to book overseas trips.

"The cost of traveling abroad is acceptable. I usually take my family on sightseeing tours twice a year," Tourist Mr. Xie said.

Europe has always been a favorite for Chinese tourists. But this year, countries like France and Germany saw a decline in Chinese travelers.

Meanwhile the UK, Russia and countries in north and eastern Europe saw a 10% increase in Chinese visitors.

Following the so-called Brexit in June, the United Kingdom has attracted an increasing amount of Chinese tourists. This comes as no surprise as it is mainly due to the falling British pound. For other countries in Europe, travel agencies have also slashed their prices for tourists.

"In general, the prices for European tours dropped by 15%. That’s mainly due to the new flight routes between China and Europe, as well as lower local costs," Kuang Xindi with GZL Int'l Travel Service Co., said.

And for some tourists, it seems like Europe just can’t satisfy their wanderlust.

"I’ve been to Europe many times. Now, I’m thinking of visiting other continents like Australia and Africa," Tourist Ms. Pan said.

Travel agencies say the number of tourists to Africa keeps increasing. And it seems set on becoming an ideal destination for Chinese tourists.

"Morocco and Tunisia exempted the need for visas for Chinese tourists, which helped increase travelers to North Africa by 30% in July," Kuang said.

According to the tourism watchdog, the country saw around 60 million individual overseas trips during the first half of this year, and an expenditure of 57 billion US dollars in international travel, a 5% increase year-on-year. The next peak travel season is expected to be during the National holiday in October.