Students Lead Tourist Trend

Beijing is enduring a hot summer this year, but Shi Xiaoming, director of the Beijing Tourist Market, said this summer's tourism industry is even hotter.

Opposite the Beijing Railway Station, Shi's office has received a continuous stream of visitors, especially students after the finish of national college entrance exams on Sunday.

"College and high school students have also contributed to the boom in the summer tourism market," said Shi.

A recent survey conducted by the Beijing Evening News shows that more than 80 per cent of college and high school students plan to travel this summer.

An increasing number of students are attracted to summer camps offering programmes such as adventure hunting, Shi said.

Among the dozens of summer camps, military summer camps in Yantai, a coastal city in East China's Shandong Province, were also well received by students. Campers live in a military school and receive military training.

"We had to expand our schedule and set up a branch office in Tianjin to meet the demand of the many students who want to join the camps," Shi said.

Many parents visited the office to seek advice from the travel agents. Jia Fulin, father of a high school student, browsed through travel brochures trying to find a camp for his son.

"I want my son to expand his horizons as well as enjoy leisure time during the summer holiday," Jia said.

Jia said his top concern is safety. He said a Tianjin bungee jumping accident which severely injured two teenagers in April has raised many fears.

Officials at the Ministry of Education have warned students of security problems during the summer holiday and have asked tourism departments to strengthen travel safety.

Because of hot weather in Beijing, most travellers chose coastal cities as their travel destinations such as Dalian, Qingdao, Yantai and Beidaihe.

The Beijing Railway Station has added 16 trains to its schedule to help cope with the summer holiday surge in passengers. Beijing West Railway Station has set up special waiting rooms for students and the Railway Bureau has expanded several railway routes to tourist cities.

Students and teachers travelling by air can enjoy 40 per cent and 25 per cent ticket discounts from July 1 to September 15, according to the announcement of Civil Aviation Administration of China.

With the help of more than 20 tourist websites, Chinese students say they are finding it easier to make travel plans, check local weather and find good tour companies.

Xiong Wei, a freshman at Beijing University, said he located his tourist company on the web.

"I want to escape from the crowded city for a while by travelling along the Silk Road this summer. The Internet helps me find a company who has the same goal," Xiong said.



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