Christmas and Lunar New Year is approaching, after three years stuck in Hong Kong due to the new corona outbreak, Hong Kongers have flocked to book outbound travel itineraries taking advantage of the ‘code yellow’ cancellation by the Hong Kong Government. Many travel agencies are filled with tour groups during the Christmas season. The industry has pointed out that the number of group tours has returned from 30% to half of the level before the epidemic. The business is better than expected and most people choose to go to Japan. Chinese New Year itineraries are also selling like hot cakes, and the travel fare is generally about 30% more expensive than before. Due to the shortage of seats in the sector, it is not possible to add more seats to the group. travel are invited to sign up as soon as possible.
The Tourism Industry Council obtained information on tour groups from several hotels in December. It is roughly estimated that more than 600 tour groups departed during the month, and 70% of the destinations were in Asia, with Japan still having the majority. Long-distance tours from Europe and the Middle East also have many fans due to the long-term holiday of “3 days please, 10 days away”. Yuan Zhenning, executive director of Zongyou, said that 90% of customers who signed up for the tours went to various places in Japan. Although the number of tours and the number of passengers is only half of three years ago, they are more willing to buy high-quality itineraries because they have been hungry for a long time. They offered a group of low-price lottery; however, due to flight seat restrictions, it was difficult to add another group, and Xiangyu guests had to do application for the Spring Festival group instead. Huen Kwok-chuen, executive director of EGL Tours, also said that people from Hong Kong signed up for the tours before the Hong Kong government lifted the “code yellow”. Chen Xiaonan, chief operating officer of Jinyi Vacations, also pointed out that some customers have already planned to travel in the traditional low season from February to March next year, and urged those who want to travel during the Chinese New Year to make a decision as soon as possible. , so that the travel agency can help book the seat, otherwise the price will double, or even No starting point.
Our reporter also looked at the information about tour groups departing from December this year to January next year. If you plan to go skiing in Hokkaido, the asking price will be at least HK $10,000 on the 6th, while at Tokyo will be around HK$9,000 to HK$15,000. Skiing for 5 days will also cost around HK$5,999 to HK$10,499. Yang Shufen, director general of the Travel Council, said that due to the increased demand for airline tickets, airlines were short-staffed and unable to add more planes. Due to lack of supply and demand, rushed to raise ticket prices, resulting in an average of 30% to 40% more expensive travel than in 2019. Yuan Zhenning frankly said that the price increase was “involuntary”, and only passed on the cost and didn’t make any more money. Xuan Guoquan also said that Japanese hotels face the problem of “unoccupied rooms”, which drives up hotel prices and makes Japanese group tours more expensive.
