Chinese rush overseas for Spring Festival(2)

"Overseas travel requires time. New Year usually allows a seven-day holiday and this creates an opportunity for busy Chinese people," said Watkins, also a city councilor of Hastings, New Zealand.

"I know families love to be together at this time, but I am sure as family incomes increase and disposable income increases, families and individuals will look more and more to enjoy a new experience overseas," he said.

Another factor that excites the overseas destinations is that Chinese visitors love shopping.

A report jointly released by the CTA and the National Tourism Administration last year showed that shopping is an important driving force that boosts consumption.

When asked why he is spending the festival in Singapore, Chen Xiaosheng said he prefers the environment of the hub's famous Orchard Road shopping district.

"It (Orchard Road) has various brands and prices are attractive," said Chen, who works for an advertising company in Guangzhou, southern China's largest city.

According to a McKinsey report on Chinese luxury consumers, 63 percent of respondents said they bought luxuries on overseas trips in 2012, compared with 36 percent in 2010.

"For quite a number of Chinese people, overseas trips are no longer a luxury, but a demand," said Fu Shuaixiong, a post-doctor of applied economics in Peking University.

"I visit different places during every long holiday and travel is a way to relax and improve my quality of life," said Wang Lei, who planned to ski in Fukuoka, Japan during the festival this year.

With an annual income of about 100,000 yuan (16,030 U.S. dollars), Beijing local Wang Lei spends roughly 30,000 yuan on travelling every year. He has travelled to Indonesia, Thailand, Korea and other Asian countries.

The overseas travel surge is the result of rises in individual income, change in consumption habits and tourism promotion, said Li Xinjian.

"With people's awareness of relaxation enhanced, leisure tourism will be like education and the health industry, which is vital to people's daily life," said Li.