Chinese tourists – The world has slowly been easing back into normalcy after the devastating pandemic, so tourists are eager to compensate for the lost time.
While places like Venice, Paris, and Madrid are typically the top destinations, Chinese tourists want to shake up their options.
The news
China’s reopening has gained momentum following three years of pandemic restrictions.
According to the Chinese Outbound Tourism Research institute, the country’s citizens are looking to travel with a change in their traveling habits.
“The Chinese tourists we will welcome this year, and in the coming years, are very different from those who came before,” said Wolfgang Georg Arlt, the chief executive of COTRI.
Arlt said that in China, the years of lockdowns created a shift from prominent tourist attractions, shifting Chinese tourists to seek “more nature-orientated, more outdoor-orientated tourism.”
He noted the surge in trends for camping, glamping, and family-focused trips.
Arlt especially noted Chinese tourists exploring travel opportunities in their own country.
“In the three years of the closure of the country, everybody had to travel domestically – including the rich people – which gave a boost to the domestic tourism industry,” he added.
Changes
With an improved domestic tourism industry, there could be a significant change in the international travel market thanks to the contributions of Chinese tourists.
“It used to be that if you were an important person in China, you had to travel internationally,” said Arlt.
“If you were traveling domestically, either you were too poor or you were too stupid to travel internationally. This has changed now.”
Wolfgang Georg Arlt is also the director of Hamburg-based sustainable travel consultancy Meaningful Tourism Center, and they noted there have been improvements in the quality and variety of domestic travel offers.
“So, for us, we have to compete not only with other international destinations, we also have to compete with the domestic market,” he added.
Resuming travel
According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, Chinese tourists made around 170 million outbound trips in 2019.
Based on a study from Ctrip.com, tourists’ outbound travel spending exceeded $127.5 billion in the first half of 2019.
In 2023, Chinese outbound travel is estimated to recover over two-thirds of the 2019 highs.
According to COTRI, they are expected to have around 110 million border crossings from China.
However, hotel group Accor estimates that over three of four Chinese travelers will stay in China.
“We anticipate that 70% to 80% of the travelers will stay within China,” said Accor global chief commercial officer Karelle Lamouche.
“Flight capacity is not yet at the levels of 2019.”
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Flight capacity data
After China reopened its borders in early January, a shortage of flight capacity left many would-be travelers stuck.
Between February 6 and February 12, international flights leaving China only recovered 9% of 2019.
According to Alibaba-owned travel booking site Fliggy, 63% of the flights were operated by Chinese carriers.
Meanwhile, Chinese citizens faced the problem of passport renewal and visa application delays.
There were also short-lived travel bans from countries, including Japan and South Korea.
“Unless we have the passports, unless we have the visas, we can’t be China-ready,” said visitBerlin director of market management Ralf Ostendorf.
Due to the shortcomings, countries that can adjust to Chinese travelers’ new needs are the biggest winners.
For example, Taiwan offers visas-on-arrival to fully vaccinated Chinese tourists with travel insurance.
“Thailand becomes the top destination for Chinese customers,” noted Fliggy’s chief strategy officer and head of corporate development Simeon Shi.
Shi also highlighted that Thailand took 180,000 Chinese tourists between January and mid-February.
In February, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnivirakul said he expects around 15 million Chinese tourists to visit the country in 2023, over half of all inbound arrivals.
Other preferences
Before the pandemic, 55% of Chinese tourists would book overseas travel via group tour operators despite growing independent travel.
According to Shi, the trend is unlikely to fade away even if the services they’re looking for have shifted.
“Even nowadays, most Chinese people don’t have a passport,” he said.
With the travel market evolving, Shi expects group tours to remain a top priority for Chinese tourists.
However, Shi noted that due to the pandemic, tour operators have lessened, creating opportunities for new entrants to offer their services.
For example, younger Chinese tourists might prefer a local cafe they found online instead of other major attractions.
Wolfgang Georg Arlt agreed that niche products and special interest tours could be something businesses could capitalize on bringing in Chinese tourists.
“Understand what you have to offer, which segment of the Chinese market is the right one for that, and then offer it,” he said.
“Don’t be afraid of niche markets in China. Niche markets in China are millions of people.”
Image source: Jing Daily
