Have money, will travel

"Very often they will buy watches, if they go to Switzerland; or diamonds if they go to Amsterdam."

But she adds they tend to be conservative when it comes to trying out foods other than Chinese.

"Travel agents prepare Chinese food for group travelers, with a few special local cuisines. Chinese people cannot bear eating Western food for every meal."

But this lack of adventurism with food has not been what a tourism body in Yorkshire in northern England has found.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, says the initial strategy was to highlight what the county had to offer in terms of Chinese cuisine.

"We started off down the line but then quickly realized we were on the wrong tack because it became apparent what Chinese people were looking for was typical authentic Western food," he says.

"We know that when visitors go to Whitby (a maritime town on Yorkshire's coast) they are extremely keen on trying fish and chips.

"When I was out in China last year, we actually did roast beef and Yorkshire pudding lunches for journalists there."

Verity, who worked in Hong Kong for three years, says his organization is making major efforts to attract Chinese tourists to bolster its 7 billion pound (8.1 billion euros) a year tourism market.

Last year the tourist body attended six trade shows in Hong Kong and the mainland and also hosted 35 journalists in Yorkshire. Among its 35 staff are three Mandarin speakers, all of them British, and also a Chinese intern.

"For our overseas work we put as much resources into China as any overseas territory. In fact, we probably put more into China than anywhere else," he says.

Verity says tourists are attracted by the county's 60 stately homes and castles, three National Parks and other visitor attractions such as the home of the Bronte sisters, the 19th Century English writers, at Haworth.

"One thing that does appeal to the Chinese is that we have nine racecourses, more than anywhere else in the United Kingdom, so there is plenty of horse racing," he says.

Tourism is a vital industry for Europe, providing some 10 million jobs and generating 5 percent of the EU's GDP.

Antonio Tajani, European Commission vice-president, says it was one of the industries that could help Europe out of its current economic crisis and that China could give it be a major impetus.

"New emerging markets, such as Brazil, Russia, India and China can offer an opportunity for Europe to maintain its growth rate, as the tourism industry can play a role in alleviating the effects of the crisis," he said at the European Tourism Forum in Malta in November.

Li Jia, product planner at China International Travel Service (CITS), the long-established State-owned travel company which was set up in the 1950s, says Europe now accounts for up to 40 percent of the company's profits.

The company handles 10,000 Chinese tourists going to Europe each year.

"The number of tourists traveling to Europe has seen a rapid rise in the last five years. It is difficult to quantify it but it could be as much as 70 percent."

She says Chinese people like the fact that Europe is economically developed and offers political stability unlike some other areas of the world.

"They are also attracted to European culture which has already spread to China through music, movies and books and which does really help promote European tourism."

She adds the economic problems in Europe, which has led to a fall in the euro against the Chinese yuan, may not be welcomed in Europe itself but has further stimulated demand since Europe is a much cheaper destination than it was three years ago.

"The economic crisis and the depreciation of the euro has to some extent stimulated the travel market to Europe," she says.

Many in China will be wishing they were traveling to Europe this Spring Festival to escape the travel chaos on the public transport network as many travel huge distances to get home.

Li, the law student who is bound for Italy, certainly believes going to Europe is a better alternative.

"There are too many people traveling domestically. Many of our relatives live in cities too far away for a Spring Festival reunion anyway," she says.

Yan Yiqi contributed to this story.