AIR tickets to Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian countries during the National Day holidays were selling fast, sources from local air ticketing agencies said.

Most holidaymakers were choosing to depart between Sept. 29 and Oct. 2. Around 90 percent of the tickets for international routes operated by Shenzhen Airlines had been booked, the company said Thursday.

As the Mid-Autumn Festival will coincide with the National Day holidays, the flights before Oct. 2 from Shenzhen to Taipei had been booked out with many Taiwanese in Shenzhen and neighboring cities returning to visit their families. The airline operates five flights a week to Taipei from Shenzhen and so far 70 percent of the seats had been booked. The cost of a round-trip between the two cities is now 1,100 yuan (US$161), almost half the peak travel season price.

Tickets for domestic tours to Yichang, Wuhan, Sanya, Haikou and Lijiang were selling briskly with some discounts available between Sept. 29 and Oct. 2.

According to local travel agencies, the cost of overseas tours would fall by 10 percent during the eight-day holiday and the number of holidaymakers was expected to increase by 15 percent, particularly for flights to European and Southeast Asian countries.

Han Ximin