How to attract Chinese tourists in a changed world – 5 ideas for the industry as travel from China ramps back up
- Chinese tourists are projected to take 110 million international trips in 2023, a huge boost to global travel – but destinations must adjust to hold appeal
- From better serving diverse travellers to communicating on safety and offering value, here are five changes the market needs to consider
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, China was the world’s largest source of outbound tourists, who took 170 million trips and contributed US$253 billion to the global economy in 2019.
This year, Chinese travellers are projected to take 110 million international trips, two-thirds of the 2019 level, according to the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (Cotri), which provides consulting and training on the Chinese outbound market.
The return of Chinese travellers is the economic boost that the global tourism and retail sectors have been missing.
According to a sentiment survey compiled in December 2022 by data and marketing agency Dragon Trail International, more than half of polled travellers from mainland China indicated that they’d be ready to travel as soon as restrictions were removed, and 32 per cent planned to travel within two years.
More than half also indicated that they planned to spend more on travel over the next year than they did before Covid.
But there’s a caveat: destinations hoping to cash in again will need to take a fresh approach that speaks to the Chinese traveller who has spent three years away from the world.