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Asia Pacific
Nip off for a short break – in Hong Kong
Sunday, 05 May, 2006
0
Growth areas in Asia are helping push demand for long-haul short breaks, according to statistics from lastminute.com.
The online company sees areas such as Hong Kong, Bangkok and Beijing developing a market which is claimed to be up by 35% year-on-year, and almost doubled in five years.
While New York is the top destination followed by Dubai and Las Vegas, lastminute.com is seeing demand for more off-beat destinations.
Holiday and flight director John Bevan said: “Hopping over the pond to the US for a few days or heading to Dubai is now seen as pretty mainstream in the UK, and we are seeing increased demand for more unsual destinations with the likes of Hong Kong proving extremely popular.
“Our sales of Cathay Pacific flights are more than double the level they were at this time last year, a jump which is fuelled by our customers’ interest in long-haul short breaks as they continually demand ideas for new places to see and unusual things to do.”
Delays in trying to obtain US visas, which is becoming an increasing problem, could also benefit eastern destinations, Bevan added.
A surge in popularity for Beijing is predicted over the next year in advance of the 2008 Olympics in the Chinese capital.
Bevan said: “The likes of Hong Kong and Bangkok will come into their own too as we think the demand is being led by people returning to discover the cities they’ve only ever bounced through on a connecting flight to Australia or other parts of Asia.”
Lastminute.com’s top 10 long-haul short breaks:
1) New York
2) Dubai
3) Las Vegas
4) Bangkok
5) Miami
6) San Francisco
7) Toronto
8) Boston
9) Hong Kong
10) Los Angeles
Report by Phil Davies
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