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Jerry Chen, an office worker, is planning a romantic trip with his girlfriend to Redang Island in Malaysia next month, where their favorite movie "Summer Holiday" was shot. "I would rather enjoy the sunshine and sea shore at leisure on Redang than hop from one country to another in frenzied travel," said 30-year-old Chen. The trend of choosing a single leisure destination overseas has been catching on lately with locals like Chen turning away from the traditional comprehensive package tours to three or more Southeast Asian countries at one time. "Not many people have registered for the two-week tour to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Macau although we recently cut the price to 6,000 yuan (US$723) from 10,000 at its peak in 1996," according to Jin Qing of Shanghai Inter-national Travel Service Co. According to a Shanghai Daily survey of several major travel agencies, locals now prefer enjoying leisure time on tropical islands such as Phuket in Thailand or Bali in Indonesia to cursory sight-seeing at many destinations. Jin said tours to dozens of Southeastern Asian countries have been popular since the business was opened in the early 1990's, noting that locals found it economically prudent to go to many places at once. With overseas travel becoming common and the number of foreign destinations increasing in recent years, Shanghainese are opting for fresh experience rather than blindly following the trend, insiders said. The cost of traveling to the exotic islands is also bearable, said Chen Jinsui of Shanghai China Inter-national Travel Service Co. Chen's company charges 6,300 yuan for a six-day tour to Phuket Island, while a weeklong package tour to Bali is priced at 7,800 yuan.