Chinese tourists take pictures near the Palace of Westminster in London. [Photo/Agencies]

Heading out of the country on holiday used to be the preserve of a privileged few

In the early 1990s Ma Ding, now in his 50s, joined a tour group traveling to Thailand - almost the only option the group could find to travel overseas.

It was a luxury package, and members of the group had to pay 9,000 yuan, a small fortune. But when they reached each destination, the group was asked to pay extra for shows or encouraged to buy local medicines. Ma and his wife returned to Shanghai with a big bag of medicine made of snakes but never had the chance to use them.

It was a time when obtaining a tourist visa for the United States or Europe was even difficult for many wealthy people in China like Ma. It would not be until 2005 that Ma, who owns two pawnshops in Shanghai, had the chance to visit the United States for the first time.

He and his wife were among five out of 19 people in their group to be granted a tour visa. "The United States as the world's most advanced country was the place I dreamed of visiting," Ma says. "The trip was also something I promised my wife when we got married."

The couple traveled for 14 days, taking in both the east and west coasts, and splashed out more than 60,000 yuan.

Since then they have barely stopped traveling. Ma and his family - two children - now travel four or five times a year, and he says that on average they spend about 1 million yuan ($153,000) a year. For instance, they have stayed in Seattle for a month or two in summer so their children could attend a local summer camp.

"Traveling is like an addiction," Ma says. "You feel bored after three months staying at home. The world is so big, and there are so many things we haven't seen or done."

Ma was one of those on the first luxury world tour organized by the country's largest online travel agency, Ctrip.com, in 2010. He has been to more than 100 cities in about 50 countries and regions, and traveled a total of 400,000 kilometers, he says.

"Traveling is not just going abroad to see the world. It's also an opportunity to relax and change. It helps you see things from a different perspective."