Last Friday, on the first day of the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (Natas) fair at Singapore Expo, Madam Tan Geok Hoon was first in line.

The retiree, 61, who wanted to go to Genting in Malaysia, said: 'It costs only $100 or so to go there for a few days as accommodation is free of charge.'

By 5.30pm yesterday, over 54,000 visitors had thronged the fair, and up to $45 million worth of tour packages had been purchased.

None too shabby a performance, even if crowd figures were slightly short of the expected 60,000.

Natas chief executive officer Robert Khoo said: 'Considering the recession and the rainy weather, the flow has been very good. Cost of tour packages and airfares have come down, so that explains the drop in revenue.'

Last year's Natas fair in the first half of the year brought in $50 million.

Ms Jane Chang, spokesman for Chan Brothers Travel, said that trips to Shandong or Guizhou in China to admire the peony blossoms were popular.

'China is a top choice because people think it's value for money. It's cheaper to shop there than in, say, Japan,' she said.

Others, like Ms Serene Pear, 22, were more willing to splurge. 'The falling euro is making it attractive for us to travel to places which we'd have dismissed as expensive before,' the Nanyang Technological University undergraduate said. -- MYPAPER