This year's weeklong National Day holiday doesn't look like it will provide the expected boom to the local tourism market.
Sales of both inbound and outbound package tours have been slow so far, according to some of the biggest travel agencies in the city.
"We are experiencing the worst time," said Zhang Kangmei, manager of the outbound tourism department at Shanghai Workers' International.
"Although European tours are selling slightly better than they did last September, the total sales during the coming holiday only account for about 50 percent of the same period last year, and I believe the situation is the same at most local businesses."
She said they have reduced the price of some packages several times hoping to stimulate sales, but so far price cuts haven't helped much.
For instance, she said, although the price of a one-day tour to Macau on October 4 or 5 has been cut by about 40 percent, few people have shown interest. Zhao Gende, manager for inbound travel at Shanghai China Youth Travel, said sales are down by 50 percent compared to last year.
"Even the telephone asking for tourist consultation rings less," he said.
Most short-term packages to Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, which should have already been sold out, are still waiting for purchasers, he said.
The just past summer boom and the opening of European countries to Chinese tourists on September 1 are the main reasons for the slow holiday market, said Yu Weihua, deputy general manager of China Travel International's Shanghai Office.
"Since many families have already traveled outside or even spent more than 10,000 yuan (US$1,205) on a European tour, they won't have enough energy or money to afford another trip so soon," he said.
Higher prices during holidays, due to more expensive air fares and hotels, further hurt sales.
While sales of group tours are down, there are signs that a growing number of people are looking to travel by themselves to nearby provinces for the National Day holiday.