The holiday season is upon us, and for many that means traveling far and wide to spend time with family and friends. According to a recent report from Global Times, an estimated 6 million Chinese will travel during the 2017 Spring Festival, a record-high for a week-long holiday.

The annual Spring Festival runs Jan. 27–Feb. 2, 2017, and is considered a global Golden Week for travel. While it is more expensive to travel during this peak season, prices are similar to last year, due to an increase in the number of flights and advanced purchase of travel packages.

The most popular destinations for Chinese travellers include Thailand, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. Travel to Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia are on the rise due to low prices and geographic advantage. International travel has peaked, with the United States and Australia as the most popular destinations. Data from Ctrip shows the number of Chinese travellers booking overseas trips is about four times higher than domestic travel.

A Beijing resident told Global Times he plans to visit Japan with his parents during the coming holidays. “Though it costs much higher than the low season, the Spring Festival holidays is a valuable time for our family to get together,” he said.

The cost of travelling to Thailand, the United States and the Philippines is 5 to 15 per cent higher than last year, but it is cheaper to travel to South Korea, Singapore and Italy, down 10 to 30 per cent from last year.

Advanced planning is recommended for holiday travel, as airport and roadway congestion is expected, causing significant delays.