From Antarctica to Iceland, Chinese Seek 'Lung-Cleansing' Trips
- Travel companies offer deals to escape toxic air pollution
- Visitors to Beijing tourist sites down 24% during holidays
Beijing enveloped in smog on Jan. 6.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Toxic haze that settled over much of China during the last three weeks has triggered a flight reflex among residents, leading to the rising popularity of smog avoidance travel packages to far-flung locations such as Iceland and Antarctica.
Traveler’s online keyword searches for terms such as “smog escape,” “lung cleansing” and “forests” had tripled amid the air pollution, according to a report titled “Smog Escape Travel Ranking” from Ctrip.com International Ltd. last month. Smog avoidance tourism has become a major theme for winter travel this year, with the Seychelles, Maldives and Iceland touted as getaways with the freshest air, according to the online travel service.