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Australia, the United States (US) and Canada are among the most popular long-haul1 destinations for travelers in Hong Kong this Chinese New Year, according to analysis conducted by Travelport , a leading travel commerce platform. 

By mid-January 2019, a total of 17,103 advanced bookings had been made3 in Hong Kong through all global distribution systems (GDS) for return flights to Australia scheduled between 28 January and 13 February 2019. Flight bookings to US (7,666) and Canada (5,608) were second and third placed respectively.

The top long-haul destinations which had seen the greatest year-on-year percentage increase in flight bookings around the Chinese New Year period were Germany, up 72% to 2,230 bookings (ranking from 12 to 8), New Zealand, up 29% to 4,416 bookings (ranking from 6 to 5), and the United Arab Emirates, up 20% to 2,590 bookings (ranking from 7 to 6).

Global distribution systems (GDS) are vast hi-tech reservation networks that allow travel agents, travel management companies and large corporations, among others, to search and book airline seats, hotel rooms, rental cars, and other travel related items. Globally in 2017, Travelport alone processed 1 trillion transactions through its platform. The company also delivers mobile services and apps to the travel industry as well as advanced analytics products, such as Travelport Business Intelligence.

Ming Foong, Regional Managing Director of Asia, Travelport, said: “This year, long-distance travel has been particularly popular among Hong Kong travelers, because the almost full-week public holiday makes it easy for travelers to plan a long vacation. The appeal of Australia to Hong Kong travellers could be attributed to its warm weather, attractive resorts and abundant flight options. Nevertheless, warmer climes are not always the decisive matter in people’s selection of travel destinations, reflected in the significant spike of advanced bookings to Germany.”