Traveling abroad during Chinese New Year is expensive – Overview of price hikes for Europe, Asia, America, and Africa routes

Lifestyle Center / Comprehensive Report

The Travel Quality Assurance Association of the Republic of China announced on the 27th the reasonable prices for various travel routes from January to March 2014. Compared to the same period last year, popular tour packages during the Spring Festival have all increased in price. The public should compare more when traveling abroad to avoid being at a disadvantage.

The association stated that Southeast Asia routes have seen price hikes due to inflation, with increases in hotel, transportation, and airfare costs; Mainland China routes have seen rises in airfare and hotel prices; for the US West and US East routes, the reasons for the increases are overall package cost hikes; the South Africa route has seen the highest increase of about 6000 to 8000 yuan due to the Southern Hemisphere entering its peak tourist season, with rises in both airfare and local costs; the Southeast Asia Line and Australasia Line have risen due to increases in airfare and fuel surcharges.

Europe routes from January to March have seen mixed changes—some routes are about 1000 yuan cheaper than last year, while others are about 5000 yuan more expensive. This is because winter is the off-season, with itineraries focusing more on indoor attractions, and upgraded accommodations such as five-star hotels; Korea, Canada, the Middle East, and India routes remain roughly the same as last year; Taiwan inbound tourism routes have seen about a 20% increase due to annual hotel price adjustments, exchange rates, and the impact of China’s implementation of the Tourism Law.