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29 Sep, 2013

Chinese Golden Week Travel: Bangkok leads top 10 searched destinations

By Xu Lin

Beijing, 2013-09-26 (chinadaily.com.cn) – As the National Day week-long holiday period approaches, travel search site Tianxun.cn released findings about popular searches from Aug 1 to Sept 30 over the past three years. It shows that Bangkok remains at the top of searched destinations for the third year running, but Taipei, Los Angeles and Singapore have recorded the greatest increase in search numbers.

The destinations have one thing in common – they provide excellent shopping, a boon to Chinese tourists who are also taking advantage of easier visa applications and an appreciating currency.

According to Tianxu, Taipei has been in the top 10 for two years, with a 78.9 percent increase in search numbers in 2013 compared to last year. In June, residents of 13 more cities on the Chinese mainland were eligible to travel to Taiwan as individual tourists.

Taiwan is also a perfect place for shopping, not only for its specialty items such as ceramics, delicacies and tea, but also for the shopping attractions such as Taipei 101 Mall.

To attract Chinese travelers, Singapore has increased flights between the two countries, especially from the second and third-tier cities in China. Diehard fans of shopping know about Orchard Road, which features international, high-end brands and retail outlets.

As the gateway to the US West Coast, Los Angeles is the first stop for most Chinese visitors. Searches to the city from the Chinese mainland showed a 90.8 percent rise from 2012 to 2013.

2011 – 2013 Statistics:

Aug 1 to Sept 30– Top Searched Travel Destinations of Chinese Travelers

 Ranking 2011 2012 2013

1

Bangkok

 Bangkok

 Bangkok

2

  Hong Kong

 Hong Kong

 Paris

3

Paris

Paris

 Hong Kong

 4

Shanghai

 Singapore

Taipei

 5

Beijing

Seoul

 Singapore

 6

Tokyo

 Kuala Lumpur

 Los Angeles

 7

Moscow

Tokyo

New York

 8

Manila

Taipei

Seoul

 9

Singapore

Manila

Tokyo

 10

 Seoul New York Moscow

Source: Tianxun.cn / China Daily