Competition is fierce as rivals vie for business from holidaymakers 

China's travel agencies are already getting excited about Super Golden Week with the rare combination of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holidays. Although the holiday is three weeks away, most of the country's travel agencies are busy preparing various products to lure customers. 

According to Ctrip.com, the country's leading travel service by business volume, its reservations for Chinese and overseas package tours have seen a much higher than usual rise with prices up 20 to 30 percent for domestic tours compared with those for off-season breaks. Booking tours to some international destinations has already become difficult. 

Super Golden Week will start on Sept 30 and end on Oct 7. It is the longest national holiday after China canceled the seven-day holiday for May Day and added the Mid-Autumn Day as one of the national holidays in 2008. 

Despite the global economic recession and slowing growth of China's national economy, tourism is still the fastest-growing industry in China, said Liang Da, an expert with the National Bureau of Statistics, having been something of a novelty 30 years ago. It's not just about traveling and sightseeing but also involves other business sectors including catering, lodging, shopping, entertainment and transportation. 

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