South-east Asia has been a popular destination for some time, but Chinese travellers are now flocking to the region in greater numbers. This follows a diplomatic spat last November that prompted them to abandon Japan – previously among their top destinations.

China Trading Desk’s (CTD) Q1 2026 China Outbound Travel Survey has revealed that travel retail continues to offer strong commercial potential, highlighting the need for operators to shift their focus from stimulating demand to capturing spend from travellers already on the move.

China Trading Desk (CTD) has released findings from its Q1 2026 China Outbound Travel Survey, showing that China outbound travel has settled into a more routine market, but travel retail remains a live commercial opportunity.

New research from China Trading Desk highlights a stable level of airport retail intent among Chinese outbound travellers, even as conversion challenges persist around price, product availability and time constraints.

Chinese New Year 2026 delivered the headline the industry wanted: Chinese travel is back, traffic is up, and confidence is returning. But an increase in Chinese travellers actually flatters to deceive. Recovery in movement is not the same as recovery in monetization. The real post-CNY story is not whether Chinese travellers moved – it’s whether brands, retailers and destinations were still relevant enough to capture the wallets moving through them.

This week, China’s mainstream platforms are mixing consumer-protection enforcement and spring travel planning with macro headlines on oil, rates and geopolitics. Weibo is dominated by the 2026 “3·15 exposure list”, Qingming travel booking calendars, Russia security alerts and pre-price-hike refuelling queues. Douyin is pushing highly replicable spring-outdoor templates and “mountain functional fashion”, alongside explainers on oil-price swings, the Fed’s rate hold and Qingmin

China’s luxury market is projected to exceed RMB 1 trillion, growing 8–10% annually. Discover key trends shaping luxury retail, travel retail, hospitality, and digital commerce in China.

China’s 2026 Spring Festival trends reveal a more emotionally driven consumer market, where AI rituals, cultural experiences and surprise-led moments are shaping travel demand, spending choices and festive buying. For brands, growth now depends on relevance, meaning and shareable experiences.

CTD’s Q1 2026 China Outbound Travel Sentiment Survey shows a steadier market, tighter conversion windows, platform-led discovery, flight-first booking, and continued travel retail opportunity.