(Yicai Global) Jan. 8 -- As the Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is approaching, over 50,000 Chinese tourists have booked holiday products for 280 different destinations in over 60 countries around the world, among which some Southeast Asian islands, Canada and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, have emerged as the most popular choices.

Most Chinese tourists planning to go abroad during the Spring Festival will travel with families, Guangzhou Daily reported yesterday, citing data from online travel agency Ctrip.com. Some 70 percent of tourists who have booked holidays plan to travel with children or parents, while 80 percent who took family holidays opted for four-  and five-star hotels for quality and comfort.

The island in Southeast Asia are among the most popular destinations for Chinese tourists to spend their Spring Festival holiday. Apart from easy and convenient visa procedures, the tropical climate in the islands is appealing to Chinese tourists in cold winter days, which is when the Chinese New Year is celebrated this year. To meet the demand from Chinese holidaymakers, a travel agency in Guangzhou in the southern Guangdong province has already chartered all airplanes of Malindo Air flying to Sabah in Malaysia for the week-long Spring Festival holiday, the agency manager said.

Some countries also organize festival activities with Chinese characteristics to attract Chinese tourists during the Chinese New Year. Canada has declared 2018 as the China-Canada Year of Tourism. The Aberdeen Centre in British Columbia, Canada, will hold Chinese New Year's Eve event including dragon and lion dance, while Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver will hold such activities as writing Spring Festival couplets, guessing lantern riddles and artistic performances.