An A340 airliner with over 300 tourists aboard took off Friday at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport for the beautiful scenic Saipan Island in the north Pacific.

Altogether, more than 1,200 tourist teams consisting of some 26,800 Shanghai residents, nearly a 23-percent increase over the previous year, will tour overseas to spend the Spring Festival holidays, according to statistics of the Shanghai-based travel agencies engaging in overseas travel services.

Hong Kong has become the most favorite tourist destination during the Spring Festival holidays for Chinese mainlanders, according to a survey done by AC Nilson, a market research firm.

A lady surnamed Yu from the Minhang District of Shanghai said many like to tour Hong Kong, because they can enjoy delicious food and buy discounted goods there.

Southeast Asian countries still remain the first choice for Shanghai residents, tourism sources said, adding more have become attracted by Hong Kong and Macao.

In addition to Australia and some European countries, some Shanghai people even choose to fly to South Africa via Singapore and Hong Kong, sources said.

(Xinhua News Agency January 24, 2004)