Ctrip says it expects another epic exodus of Chinese tourists heading overseas for the upcoming Golden Week holiday period.
A record six million people will travel overseas for the holidays, said Ctrip’s vaction business department chief marketing officer Shi Yuduan.
Shi credits TV as a major driver for the expanding horizons of Chinese tourists.
"Popular TV shows such as Game of Thrones have become a new pull in overseas tourism. We have seen a staggering 300% rise in the number of tourists going to Croatia year-on-year. There is also a strong growth in Czech Republic, Iceland, Spain and Northern Ireland, too, where the HBO TV series was filmed."
Ctrip also said there is a growing segment of customers preferring longer stays with a quarter of all Ctrip customers now choosing a trip of between seven and 10 days.
However outbound tourism is merely a drop on the ocean compared to the number of domestic trips.
A mind-boggling 650 million people are expected to take to the road, rail and skies for the holidays.
That is the equivalent of more than the entire population of Western Europe.
Last year 593 million tourists travelled during the period, according to the China National Tourism Administration.
