(Yicai) Dec. 1 -- The cost of a plane ticket in China will likely fall for the New Year holiday period as Chinese carriers said they will lower their fuel surcharges this month after global oil prices fell.

The fuel surcharge for adult passengers on routes up to 800 kilometers will drop to CNY50 on Dec. 5 from CNY60 (USD7.02 from USD8.42), travel agency Qunar said today. That for distances of more than 800 km will be cut to CNY90 from CNY110 (USD12.65 from USD15.46).

The surcharges were raised three times in the previous four months, so costs are still higher than in summer, but as this quarter is the off-season for tourism and ticket prices are relatively low, air travel is still affordable even with the surcharge.

The average domestic airfare, excluding tax, was about CNY590 for this month as of Nov. 21, down 19 percent from the prior month, according to flight information provider Hanglv Zongheng.

Southern cities with mild climates, including Sanya, Xishuangbanna, Guangzhou, and Xiamen, are the top destinations for tourists in winter, Qunar noted. With the opening of northern ski resorts, Harbin, Jilin, Zhangjiakou, and other cities also welcome many visitors.

Searches for winter city breaks jumped over 20 percent in November from the same month in 2019, with Sanya, Haikou, and Kunming the top three spots. The average price of a one-way ticket to popular cities was about CNY700 (USD98) last month, which will likely climb after December.

New Year bookings had reached about 770,000 as of Nov. 21, Hanglv Zongheng’s figures showed. Searches for tickets over the Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year holiday that runs from Feb. 9 to 15, also jumped about 20 percent in the seven days to Nov. 21 from the week earlier.

Editor: Martin Kadiev