Short trips are expected to be popular during the shortened May Day holiday with more people keen to travel than at the Qingming Festival, according to a recent survey by Ctrip.

Of the 3,000 people who participated in the online survey, 76 percent had travel plans for the May Day holiday, 30 percent more than at the Qingming Festival.

More than 60 percent said they would go to surrounding areas for a trip, with 21 percent going further afield.

Only about 1 percent of the respondents wanted to go to Europe and Australia.

The company said Hong Kong was expected to top the list as the Beijing Olympics torch was expected to reach the city during the holiday.

As exhibitions will have a break at the beginning of May in Hong Kong, hotels won't be busy then, and price won't rise very much, the company estimated.

Another attraction in Hong Kong during the holiday is the new-season fashion items.

With the opening of the Hangzhou Bay Bridge on May 1, shortening the time from Shanghai to Zhejiang Province, trips to southeastern Zhejiang are proving attractive. "For example, the journey to Xiangshan will be two hours shorter, and to Yandang Mountain, Putuo Mountain and Xianju will save about an hour," said Guo Guang, supervisor of the company's holiday products department.

"The products to Zhejiang started to sell at the beginning of this month, and now only very few places are available."

The Shanghai Sightseeing Bus center has prepared more than 200 itineraries for the holiday, including trips using the Hangzhou Bay Bridge. "The products which will cross the bridge are selling rather well, as we reckon people will want to see the bridge and the surrounding scenery for the first time," said Xu Zhuoru, an official with the center.

(Shanghai Daily April 28,2008)