Cold wave has travelers rushing to warm islands
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Heavy snowstorms and freezing temperatures in the north and east of the country has prompted millions of sun seekers to book holidays at tropical island resorts for the upcoming Spring Festival.
The Chinese New Year this year falling on Feb 14, Valentine's Day, is just the icing on the cake for couples looking to spend a warm and romantic holiday near pristine blue waters.
According to travel agencies, Phuket in Thailand, Bali in Indonesia, the Maldives and China's Hainan are among the most popular destinations for Chinese travelers this holiday season.
"With the Spring Festival coinciding with Valentine's Day, islands seem to be the perfect getaways for couples," said Zhang Qingzhu, the marketing manager of China Comfort Travel Service Co Ltd.
But more importantly, the warm weather these islands offer is attracting travelers from China's northern and eastern provinces, where temperatures have plummeted to the lowest in several decades, according to beach-bound tourists.
"The temperature in Beijing has dipped too low for comfort," said Zheng Rui, who works for a foreign firm in the capital. "Together with some of my friends, I am taking off to bake in the sun in Thailand for a week."
For those who woke up late, getting tickets to these hot destinations during the 40-day travel season, which begins Jan 30, is tough and expensive.
Xie Meng planned on taking her son and parents to Phuket but all flights leaving Beijing for the tropical paradise in Thailand on Feb 14 and 15 are sold out.
"There are absolutely no tickets available. I have tried everything possible," Xie said.
In addition, the price of a roundtrip ticket from Beijing to Phuket has soared to a whopping 6,000 yuan, which is an additional 2,300 yuan above the December price.
"I could have never imagined Phuket was so popular," she said.
The only option left for Xie now is to join a group tour to Phuket, but those also are filling up quickly.
Bai Jing of China Comfort Travel Service Co ltd said almost all group tours to islands in Southeast Asia are fully booked.
"The only tours that are still available are the ones that charge the maximum - about 7,180 yuan - and leave on the first day of the lunar New Year," Bai said.
Ctrip.com, one of China's leading online travel agencies, reported that more than 70 percent of available places on group tours to popular islands in Southeast Asia have been booked.
"Requests (for bookings) came earlier than usual and the number of tourists has more than doubled compared to last year," Tang Yibo, director of the holiday department of ctrip.com, said.
Tang said that places facing an immediate threat of global warming are also popular among Chinese travelers this year.
"Bookings to Hawaii, Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Venice in Italy and the Maldives increased since last year," he said.
"The Copenhagen conference on global warming and the movie 2012 have aroused people's attention about these places. They want to see them before it's too late," he said.
Heavy snow and gale force winds caused the temperature to drop by 18 degrees in Altay in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region last week. The freezing conditions left one person dead and at least 276 injured or sick.
China has been repeatedly struck by cold waves this winter. Liaoning and Jilin provinces and the eastern part of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region have suffered the coldest weather in 30 years, while Beijing and Tianjin have been hit by the largest amount of snow in 59 years.
Several provinces have been struggling with coal and gas shortages since late last year.
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