Travelers

In addition to spending money in shops, Chinese women have been more inclined to enjoy life than before. Travel, for example, is growing more and more popular with women.

Qin Ting, an office worker in a foreign company in Beijing, took a 10-day vacation to Thailand in March 2009, which cost her about 6,000 yuan ($896).

"Being in Thailand, I felt so good about myself. The essential purpose of the trip was to relax and have a good rest. I'm determined to travel at least once a year," said Qin. This March, she went on a 10-day trip to Nepal, which again cost her about 6,000 yuan, she said.

The Report on Women's Travel Trends in 2010 was recently released by Qunar.com, a famous Chinese online travel website. The report shows the women's travel market has huge potential as more Chinese women use their increased incomes to enjoy life. In 2009, the average expenditure on travel for women in China was 3,584 yuan ($535). In 2010, the figure increased by 20 percent to 4,300 yuan ($642). For men, the 2009 figure was 4,108 yuan ($613), while the 2010 figure was 4,482 yuan ($669) in 2010, an increase of only 9 percent. The report also said more than 65 percent of travel-related buying decisions are made by women.

Women now have a stronger desire for travel, with educated and career women having a particularly strong interest. Travel can meet their need to relax, experience change, expand their horizons and improve themselves. Besides traveling in China, more and more Chinese women choose to spend their vacations abroad. The most favored foreign destinations for Chinese women are: Paris, the Maldives, Venice, Rome, London, Tokyo, Seoul and Bali.