Europeans Coming to China for Chinese New Year Reveals Skyscanner

SINGAPORE, January 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Global flight comparison site Skyscanner has revealed a massive increase in Europeans wanting to travel to China for Chinese New Year.

The Netherlands saw the greatest interest with a 91% rise in flight searches to China, followed by Italy with an 83% rise, Germany with a 74% rise, and France and the UK with a 40% rise.

Skyscanner has over24 million users a month and the data from Skyscanner suggests that China will see a boost in the number of European visitors over the Chinese New Year period. However, it's also an extremely busy time internally, with millions of Chinese travelling within the country to reach their home towns and cities.

In fact domestic travel at this time of year is so busy that it has been deemed "the largest annual human migration in the world," and some Chinese travellers have found that the only way to get home is to fly out of China and then back in from a foreign airport.

Yi Bao, Market Development Manager for China commented:

"Europe has long had strong connections with China, both as a business partner and as a tourist destination, with a high volume of visitors between the two nations. An estimated 3 million people with Chinese heritage live in Europe and many of them travel to China during the Chinese New Year period to visit friends and family. In addition to this, Chinese New Year is an appealing time for many European tourists as it's a period when China is at its most vibrant, with huge celebrations taking place across the country."

Top Five Countries Showing Greatest Interest in Travelling to China for Chinese New Year

1. Netherlands (+91%)
2. Italy (+83%)
3. Germany (+74%)
4. France (+40%)
5. UK (+40%)

Notes to Editors:

Percentage increase was calculated by comparing flight searches to China for  on the weekend 11, 12, 13 Jan 2012, with the weekend right before Chinese New Year 20, 21, 22 Jan 2012.

About Skyscanner

Skyscanner is a travel search site providing online comparisons on flight prices for millions of flights on thousands of airlines, as well car hire, hotels and deals.

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