Holiday-makers these days prefer organizing their own agendas when they go away, rather than wasting time on trips planned by tour operators which often include forced shopping trips that they have no interest in going on.

The only problem is that self-designed trips can cost a little more money and time to arrange.

On the eve of "Golden Week" of the National Day holiday, a new design of tour operator is providing travel excursions which pledge not to include these superfluous shopping sprees.

The first "no-shopping" group was masterminded in 2001 by the Shanghai Spring International Travel Service, a top-notch domestic travel agency.

Agency head Wang Zhenghua said it had received a lot of good response.

When the package was first marketed, he said eyebrows were raised among staff and other travel agencies. They all thought it was mission impossible.

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