(Yicai) Oct. 20 -- Countries taking part in China’s Belt and Road Initiative have become increasingly popular with Chinese tourists, with searches for such places surging on major travel platforms as China continues to increase the number of outbound destinations.

The cultural tourist route of the ancient Silk Road has become the most popular new tourism product among BRI destinations for Chinese people, Zhang Menglei, the person in charge of holiday products at Tongcheng Travel, told Yicai.

Five Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and the three Caucasus countries of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia have seen the most growth in popularity among tourists, according to data from Tongcheng.

With the deepening of cooperation in pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative, it is easier for Chinese tourists to apply for visas for countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus region, Zhang added. The number of people going to these place this year far exceeded the level of 2019, with bookings for the three Caucasus countries surging more than 300 percent, Zhang pointed out.

However, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Türkiye, Malaysia, Italy, Russia, New Zealand, and Egypt remain the 10 most popular destinations in the BRI for Chinese tourists.

Although China’s long Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday has passed, many bookings are still made for trips to countries along the BRI, a person from Tuniu, another travel agency, said to Yicai. The firm’s 11-day deep tour in Egypt and seven-day United Arab Emirates-Dubai-Abu Dhabi tour are some of the most popular, the person added.

People aged around 30 and 40 years have become the main bookers of trips to countries in the BRI, accounting for over 60 percent of the total, according to e-tourism website Lvmama.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev