By Travel Weekly Asia
Published July 3, 2024
As global travel gets back on its feet - new research in China has revealed that things are not what they used to be. Far from it.
China Trading Desk’s most recent Travel Sentiment Survey of Chinese 15,000 travellers found that while more than half of those polled have never travelled overseas, 61% of them plan to pack their bags, grab their passports, and head abroad once, maybe twice in the coming months.
CTD’s April-June 2024 survey reflected a broadening market base of Chinese travellers, with stronger involvement from Gen Z women and older demographics.
The survey found dual trends of booking spontaneity and detailed planning. Some were keen on spontaneous travel, while others enjoyed months of planning and expectation.
The second quarter also saw an increase in Chinese travellers over age 35.
“While our Q1 survey noted that young educated women were leading the charge in China’s outbound travel business, Q2 saw older travellers increasingly travelling overseas as well, in a visible expansion of China’s outbound travel business,” said China Trading Desk founder and CEO Subramania Bhatt.
The top destinations for Chinese travellers included traditional favourites like Singapore (15.6%), Thailand (13.8%), Malaysia (12%), Japan (11.7%) and South Korea (11.5%).
In Q2, there was a noticeable rise in interest toward less common destinations like Europe (10.1%) and Australia (8.2%).
“This shift towards a mix of familiar and new destinations highlights a collective yearning to blend comfort with novelty in travel experiences,” Bhatt explained. “There’s an expanding horizon for Chinese travellers seeking diverse cultural and experiential journeys.”
Another emerging trend in Q2 is that Chinese travellers are showing an increased interest in health, wellness, and nature tourism.
“Our survey revealed that travellers are increasingly seeking destinations that offer natural landscapes and wellness activities,” Bhatt said.
“This reflects a shift towards more health-conscious travel choices, which opens new opportunities for destinations and service providers to cater to the evolving demands of Chinese travellers.”
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