2016 China Market Overview - Cross-border Tourism
English
According to UNWTO, China ranked the 4th place in the world with 57 million outbound tourists staying overnight in the foreign destination, followed by France, USA and Spain. Over 60% of oversea tourists in China were from Asian countries, over 20% from European countries and over 10% from American countries. Korean, Japanese and American tourists accounted for the majority of inbound tourists.
Summary
- According to UNWTO, China ranked the 4th place in the world with 57 million outbound tourists staying overnight in the foreign destination, followed by France, USA and Spain. Over 60% of oversea tourists in China were from Asian countries, over 20% from European countries and over 10% from American countries. Korean, Japanese and American tourists accounted for the majority of inbound tourists.
- Among all the oversea tourists, tourists aged 25-44 years old have the highest proportion. Male tourists’ proportion exceeds that of female. Inbound travelers’ major purposes of coming to China were for vacations, meetings and business. For those who had vacation in China, they wanted to experience special Chinese culture and enjoy beautiful scenic spots. Recommendation from relatives/friends, OOH ads, TV ads and information from websites were main resource channels.
- In terms of outbound tourism, China had 117 million outbound tourists in 2015 and increased by 8.96% compared with 2014. Total number of travelers visiting Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau reached 85.8 million. Other popular oversea destinations among Chinese tourists include Thailand, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, US, Singapore and Russia.
- In 2015, Chinese outbound tourists were mainly from developed regions in China with residents having stronger purchasing power, more consulates and more convenient transportation. People in Chongqing, Sichuan, Hunan, Shaanxi, Shanxi and Jilin tend to be more willing to travel abroad than before. Among outbound travelers, females were more than males. People aged 25-34 and 35-44 constitute the most of outbound travelers. 60% of travelers surveyed prefer overseas traveling with family and friends. Besides, 77.2% of outbound travelers chose to participate in travel agents' groups.
- When it came to self-guided tour in 2015, more males preferred it compared with females. Self-guided travelers in China were mainly 80s and 90s generation, and they would like to spend 5- 6 days for enjoying natural beauty or have sea island vacations during long-holiday in October or during their annual leave.
- Compared to platforms with travel tips, self-guided travelers preferred to acquire trip information from OTA platforms, such as Ctrip, Qunar, Fliggy, etc. They tended to book air tickets & hotels online. Among all outbound self-guided Chinese travelers, 40% of them would make reservations 15-30 days in advance. 80% of the booked products were air tickets and 30% of travelers chose 4-5 star hotels abroad.
- In 2015, the number of Chinese cruise tourists were 0.73 million, ranking the8thinthe world. However, the penetration rate in the cruise market was only 0.05%. As of 2016, China cruise transportation mainly centralized around Shanghai, Tianjin, Xiamen and Sanya. In the future, multiple ports will be set up to face the challenge brought by international luxury cruise corporation and its cruising products.
- Cruise travel was mainly chosen by three-people family. Their favorite destinations were Japan and Korea, with 4-6 nights included in the trip. In the future, Southeast Asian cruise lines are expected to be more popular among cruise travelers. “Flight + cruise” travel models will be prefered in Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.
- Cruising business of Tuniu, Ctrip and LY.com had occupied over 70% share of the total market in 2016. It was forecasted that by 2018, all online cruising business’s penetration will be about 65%. Also, the revenue of online cruising business will be doubled from CNY1.8 billion in 2016 to CNY3.65 billion in 2018 with the development of China cruising tourism market.
- As for Chinese young luxury travelers, they were characterized by their great consumption capability and rich travel experience. They preferred to travel with family during long vacations in October or during Chinese Spring festival, and sometimes they decided to travel at any time of the year. Europe and Japan were very much welcomed by them. They liked diverse trip themes and usually considered a lot when they selected hotels. Also, they were more in favor of Air China and Lufthansa.
- Recreational vacation, traveling around the world and mild adventure will be the 3most popular trip themes among young travelers in the next 3 years. Europe and America are expected be their favorite travel destinations. Currently, Hainan, Yunnan and Tibet were the top 3 favorite domestic destinations. And France, Japan and Australia were the top 3 foreign destinations.
- In 2015, the average family travel expense of Chinese young luxury travelers was CNY0.42 million annually, among which CNY0.22 million was shopping expense during the trips. Apparels, bags, watches and jewelries were more preferred by Chinese high-end travelers in their shopping tour. Chinese young luxury travelers tended to acquire information via smartphones. They viewed WeChat, surfed webpages, took photo and did shopping all by phones. The most commonly used apps were Ctrip, Qunar and Tuniu.
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