With the low season nearing an end, tourists can catch their last chance for cheap tours before the Spring Festival, which falls on Feb. 9th.

Tourist industry insiders said tour prices would increase greatly for the golden week of the Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year, the Yangcheng Evening News reported.

Tour prices had been declining after the weeklong National Day holiday in October, with some routes reaching record lows, but a lot of scenic spots and hotels are set to raise their prices. Insiders said tour prices had begun bouncing back, with some routes at least 20 percent more expensive during the New Year than they were out of season, the newspaper reported.

Many Guangzhou people had signed up for tours during Christmas and the New Year, about a 40 percent increase over the same period last year, the newspaper said. Popular destinations included neighboring provinces, Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian countries.

Meanwhile, tour groups for single white-collar workers organized by a travel agency and two Web sites are scheduled to set off Sunday.

The groups are expected to help people find their Mr. and Mrs. Right while traveling. The first tour will be a one-day journey to the Happy Sky resort in Huangpu District. Next week there will be a three-day Christmas tour to Guilin in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. In the future, the tour groups will be divided into special ones for those with master's degree and those in their 30s or 40s.

Editor: Catherine