Air passengers check the departure board at the Pudong airport yesterday, when nearly all domestic flights were delayed or canceled due to heavy snow. - Shanghai Daily

Shanghai Daily news 

Many city residents have been forced to change their holiday travel plans as flights from Shanghai were canceled or delayed, and highways were closed due to heavy snow.

The Shanghai Airlines Holiday Tour Co Ltd said 10 tourist groups to Sichuan and Guilin, Guangxi, were canceled. The 200 people who were affected could choose to travel at a later date or collect a refund, the company said.

The Shanghai Sightseeing Bus Center said all tours to surrounding areas have been canceled, including itineraries to Zhouzhuang, Zhujiajiao and Songjiang.

Center officials said tours won't resume until weather conditions improve. Travelers can ask for refunds at ticket offices.

Ctrip, China's major online tour service company, said it had received 50 percent more refund requests than usual, as many flights could not take off.

However, the price of Spring Festival tour packages has not been affected by the bad weather.

Traveling to Hainan may be more expensive than to some Southeast Asian islands during the holiday, because tourists are keen to enjoy the sunshine and beaches there, industry sources said.

Agents said almost all travel to the island province had been booked out, with the most expensive package costing 7,000 yuan (US$946) - about 1,000 yuan more than last Spring Festival.

The price, about four times higher than in other seasons, is even higher than the cost of traveling to Phuket in Thailand.

Four and five-star hotels in Sanya are asking 3,000 to 5,000 yuan a night during the festival - about twice the usual price.

Although complaints about Hainan-bound tour products have increased in recent years, the natural attractions of the place are still irresistible to tourists, according to the Shanghai Airlines Holiday Tours Co Ltd.

An agent surnamed Hu said many new first-class hotels and entertainment facilities had been built in Hainan in recent years, making it even more attractive to tourists.

"And this year, the May Day holiday has been shortened, so more tourists are choosing to travel during Spring Festival,'' said Hu. "And in the cold winter, Hainan is the first choice of most people.''

Officials from the Shanghai Tourism Administrative Commission said residents should be careful if traveling to snow-affected regions.

They said people should not drive to destinations affected by severe weather.