Overseas Spring Festival travel up this year

More than 7 million Chinese people will go abroad in the coming Spring Festival, with destinations like Thailand and Japan at the top of the list thanks to relaxed visa rules and appreciated yuan, according to the country's biggest online tourism site Ctrip.

The volume of foreign currency exchange jumped over 20 percent year-on-year last week after the yuan rose above 6.8 against the US dollar, Ctrip said.

During the Spring Festival, starting from February 5 this year, Chinese travellers are expected to take more than 400 million trips, compared with 386 million trips last year. They will visit 900 cities in 96 countries and regions globally including the Antarctic.

The top destinations include Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, the United States, Australia and the Philippines.

In a separate report released by Airbnb, Chinese tourists are expected to visit 618 cities in 88 countries and regions, with the top destinations being Japan, Thailand and the United States.

More than 74 countries and regions offer visa-exemption or visa on arrival policies to Chinese passport holders. Some counties have also simplified the application process, industry officials said.