A growing percentage of Chinese travelers are going abroad for the first time. China Trading Desk's second-quarter survey revealed that 44% of Chinese travelers are making their first international trips, up six percentage points from the previous quarter.

CHINA. China Trading Desk’s latest survey highlights the need for the travel retail sector to rethink its approach, as Chinese travellers become increasingly self-directed and digitally influenced.

As China progresses through mid-2025, the outbound travel market continues to chart a strong recovery trajectory, evolving with renewed confidence and discernible shifts in consumer priorities. That is according to China Trading Desk (CTD) and its latest China Outbound Travel Sentiment Survey for Q2 2025. The survey reflects this ongoing transformation, capturing the “nuanced behaviours and motivations of a market steadily returning to pre-pandemic vibrancy”.

Outbound travel market rebounds, fueled by digitally-savvy newcomers prioritizing value-conscious luxury experiences over traditional status symbols.

As China progresses through mid-2025, the outbound travel market continues to chart a strong recovery trajectory, evolving with renewed confidence and discernible shifts in consumer priorities. That is according to China Trading Desk (CTD) and its latest China Outbound Travel Sentiment Survey for Q2 2025.

China's outbound tourism is back in full swing, but the real shift is in why. people are travelling and how they're deciding where to go, what to book, and what to buy.

Big city lights? Too dull, say bright-eyed Chinese travellers who prefer to dream of far-flung locales – areas more likely to drain their life alongside their bank account. And oh, what a thrill.

Teenagers in 2025 have grown up online, with digitized lives that seldom see a day without a screen. Combined with the booming wellness industry, that internet-overload has carved a new generation in search for “digital detox vacations,” with Gen Alpha growing up to be a key target consumer-base for luxury wellness retreats.

Chinese tourism to South Korea is picking up with the end of political instability in Seoul and the two nations pledging closer relations shortly before visa exemptions take effect, travel industry sources said this week.