(ECNS) -- A study of the tourism behavior among China's working population shows that 88 percent of respondents had to work to some degree during their paid vacations, while one in three had no control over holiday plans.
Among holidaymakers, the study showed that 64 percent had to use their mobile phones to work, completing tasks such as answering emails or attending conference calls, while 41 percent brought laptops with them, squeezing in time to work during their trips.
While on vacation, almost half chose to keep a low profile to minimize the effects their holiday might have on their relationships. For example, holidaymakers tended not to boast about their trips on the popular messaging application WeChat, or they only shared their updates with close friends. Ten percent said they didn't mention their vacations to work colleagues at all.
On average, Chinese white-collar workers took 2.8 holiday trips a year but made business trips 4.7 times. In the past year, 38 percent said they traveled for business purposes more than five times.
Employees in consultancy, law, certification and intermediary services took about 3.8 trips a year, the highest among all occupations, while those from the education and training sectors traveled 2.9 times a year. People in the financial industry were most preoccupied with work, with 38 percent not using up their annual paid leave in the past year, according to the survey.
When it came to geographical location, workers in Shanghai found it most difficult to take advantage of their vacations and 37 percent said their paid leave in the past year was wasted.
The study also showed that 57 percent said they preferred to try new cuisines and 53 percent were interested in adventurous activities, including rollercoaster rides.
