The first day of National Holiday Golden Week indicates the Chinese tourists have remained calm and rational in face of the anticipated tourism boom during the seven-day holiday.

A recent survey conducted by a renowned China's tourism website, "Xiecheng", showed that 84 percent of the people surveyed planned to travel during the holiday.

Both tourism practitioners and consumers, though, stayed calm facing the coming tourism boom, an analyst said, and Chinese tourists have become wise enough to avoid swarming one scenic spot.

The Golden Week would play a role in boosting the recovery of domestic tourism and help China set up an image of healthy and safe tourism, according to sources with National Tourism Administration.

Another survey among 1000 people around China showed that 56.8 percent thought safety and health were important, favored short trips and preferred to visit friends and relatives and did exercise instead during the holiday.

The survey found that 47.66 percent would rather travel after or before the holiday and 31 percent chose to drive themselves. The survey concluded that a majority of people put health in first place for the holiday.

China's tourist industry, which was hard hit by the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic, experienced a gradual recovery from August, and resulted in growth of eco-tourism, health tourism, small-group tourism and self-drive tourism.

(Xinhua News Agency October 2, 2003)