Chinese tourism to Japan plunges 50% over Lunar New Year as Thailand cashes in

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By Ralph Jennings

Published February 24, 2026

Thailand led the list of destinations for Chinese tourists travelling overseas during this year’s extended Lunar New Year holiday, as former favourite Japan saw arrivals plummet amid a political dispute with China over Taiwan.

The Southeast Asian nation saw roughly 250,000 arrivals from China during the holiday, which ran from February 15 to 23, according to the travel marketing and technology firm China Trading Desk. This year’s Lunar New Year holiday was expected to be a key period for global travel operators. China has one of the largest outbound travel markets in the world – worth an estimated US$140 billion in 2024, according to HSBC – and the public holiday ran for an unusually long nine days in 2026.

Chinese tourism to Thailand had dipped last year amid safety fears over Southeast Asia’s scam centres, leading the tourism authority in Bangkok to step up promotions in an attempt to lure back travellers.

Those efforts appeared to pay off. The number of Chinese travellers visiting Thailand rose by 60,000 compared with last year’s holiday, according to China Trading Desk, helping Bangkok beat its forecast of 241,000 arrivals from China between February 13 and 22.

Thailand became one of the first countries eligible to receive Chinese tour groups more than two decades ago, and it has remained a popular destination ever since due to its beaches, low prices and proximity to China.

“Thailand has always been a favourite for Chinese, but it had taken a hit because of safety issues,” said China Trading Desk CEO Subramania Bhatt.

South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore were the second, third and fourth most popular destinations, respectively, with Chinese tourists during the Lunar New Year break, China Trading Desk found. China’s tourists spent the most in South Korea, shelling out at least US$319 million during the holiday, according to the company.

The Chinese travel platform Fliggy recorded similar findings. Southeast Asian destinations within a “four-hour flight circle” from mainland China – as well as Hong Kong and Macau – were the most popular Lunar New Year travel choices among China’s outbound tourists this year, the firm said in a statement on Monday.

Fliggy is owned by Alibaba Group Holding, which also owns the South China Morning Post.

Meanwhile, Japan received just 130,000 Chinese travellers over the Lunar New Year, down from 260,000 during last year’s holiday, China Trading Desk found.

Beijing and Tokyo have been embroiled in a diplomatic row over Taiwan since November, with Chinese authorities warning against travel to Japan and Chinese airlines cancelling thousands of flights.

The feud further intensified on Tuesday, as Beijing added 20 Japanese entities to an export control list as part of an effort to restrict the use of Chinese goods in Japan’s defence industry.

Scheduled airline capacity on China-Japan routes totalled 125,717 seats last week, down from 192,262 in the first week of December, said John Grant, chief analyst at the British aviation intelligence firm OAG.

Wealthy travellers and repeat visitors from China are still travelling to Japan, often on their own rather than as part of tour groups, said Katsuya Yamamoto, director of the Tokyo-based Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s Strategy and Deterrence Programme. China’s travel advisory had “little effect” on that cohort, he said.

“Their choice of destinations … reflects a clear trend towards greater diversification and dispersion compared with traditional group travel,” he said.