News Feed Outbound Travel Booms on Lax Visas, Strong Yuan Travel World China | Date锛�2012-12-26   Outbound travel is booming in China with several holidays around the corner. Industry insiders said the boom was brought on by changes in consumer habits, simplified visa application procedures and the appreciation of the yuan. "Business is better than it was this time last year, with many Chinese starting to see outbound trips as part of their lives and some taking trips habitually," Zhang Qingzhu, a marketing manager at China Comfort Travel Group Co, told the Global Times Thursday. Compared with the period between Christmas and New Year's Day in 2011, Zhang said, the sales volume of the company went up by 15 percent this year. "Between Christmas and New Year's Day, the most popular travel routes are to Southeast Asian countries and islands where it's warm, while for the coming Spring Festival, trips to EU countries and the US are more popular," Zhang said. Simplified visa application procedures, lower visa requirements by some EU countries and yuan appreciation have also contributed to the boom, said Tong Jun, a public relations manager with Beijing U­Tour International Travel Service Co.  Italy, for instance, recently canceled quota restrictions on tourist visas for Chinese travelers in boom season and also offered a five-year tourist visa, allowing repeat visits.  Meanwhile, when the yuan appreciated, outbound trips to countries like the US also increased. This year through the end of June, a total of 658,000 Chinese travelers have gone to the US, registering a 46 percent year-on-year growth, according to the latest data from the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries of the US Department of Commerce. Some Chinese industry experts said they expect a promising future for China's outbound trips in the coming three to five years.  "GDP growth and a large population have been strong contributors to our growth in outbound trips over the past years," Wang Qiyan, director of Renmin University of China's Research Center of Leisure Economy, told the Global Times.   Source锛歍he Global Times