The Chinese are travelling and spending, showing no sign of reducing their vacations abroad despite many key indicators showing signs of a slowdown in the Chinese economy.
In fact, Chinese travellers will continue to travel and spend more in the next 12 months, according Hotels.com’s Chinese International Travel Monitor (CITM) study 2017.
Last year the travel spend by Chinese tourists increased across all age brackets, averaging US$3,623 – more than a quarter of their income at 28%, and an increase of 4% per cent compared with 2015.
Here is a summary of the findings in the research, which was carried out among Chinese travellers aged 18 to 57 who have travelled overseas in the past 12 months (read the full report).
More spending power, longer stay
The Chinese spends 28% of their income on travel (Image credit: JHK2303/iStock)
Chinese tourists, in general, are expected to spend a daily average of US$446 per day with average stay of seven days per visit when they travel. Overall, they are spending more than a quarter (28%) of their income on international travel, with millennials being the biggest spenders, allocating 35% of their income to travel.
The average amount spent per day, inclusive of accommodation, also increased by 8% to US$446 from US$414 in 2016. For the first time in the survey’s history, shopping is no longer the prime reason for international travel. Leisure, culture and eco tourism are the new flavours.
Looking ahead, Chinese travellers said they intend to spend an average of 10% more on travel over the next 12 months.
The rise of the ‘more’ generation
China is seeing the rise of the ‘more’ generation of travellers (Image credit: Hotels.com)
There is a new generation of travellers rising in China – the ‘more generation’. Comprising Chinese travellers of all age groups, they are more educated and increasingly sophisticated in their tastes and expectations. They want more of everything – more time travelling, more locations, more exotic experiences, and they are spending more.
This generation is also providing huge economic benefits to global economies as they are traveling internationally more often and for longer than ever before. In the past year the number of trips they took worldwide increased from three to four, and the length of stay from five to seven days. They are also visiting multiple cities per trip, with over 80% saying they would not just stay in a single city.
Safety, Heritage, Bucket list
Singapore is a must visit destination for the Chinese traveller (Image credit: NanoStock/iStock)
According to the study, the key factors for Chinese travellers to choose their next holiday destination has safety on top of the list – with historical/heritage reasons and bucket lists being the next two important factors.
So it is no surprise that the most favoured destination for the Chinese travellers in the next 12 months is Singapore, out of the bucket list of 10 cities.
As the report states: “Singapore’s stellar reputation as a safe city plays positively for Chinese travellers who consider safety paramount for their holiday destinations. Besides the high level of security, Singapore also boasts a colourful heritage and a kaleidoscope of cultures – both of which interests the Chinese traveller, whilst taking a selfie at the infinity pool of Marina Bay Sands could be part of Chinese travellers’ bucket list.”
Add in Mandarin as the national language and the easy availability of Chinese food, the city state is a sure winner for the Chinese heart.
The other nine cities are Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Australia’s Gold Coast, the Maldives, Hokkaido, Kuala Lumpur and Seoul.
Capturing the Chinese yuan
The Chinese tourism market in South East Asia is expanding rapidly (Image credit: Placebo365/iStock)
Jessica Chuang, Hotels.com’s regional marketing director, Greater China, SEA and India, believes that with the rising Chinese middle-class with vast disposable income, countries cannot ignore the impact that the Chinese tourist can have on a country’s economy.
“Southeast Asia has been identified as a key market to have significant increased outbound travel of Chinese tourists,” she added. “Cities and hotels across the region must look at how to best develop solutions that tap into their enormous spending power.”
According to Hotels.com, hotels across Asia Pacific have started to recognise what’s needed and have turned to social media and marketing programs to attract the Chinese traveller, whilst increasing the number of Mandarin speaking staff, and offering Chinese payment facilities.
• Featured image credit: Choreograph/iStock