180 million Chinese tourists in 2024 (+20% vs 2019)? (#161)

Version fran?aise de cette Lettre du tourisme chinois

The roadblocks to a quick recovery of Chinese outbound tourism are still numerous over three months after January 8, 2023, when international travel for Chinese visitors first became available. In fact, Chinese tourism in Europe, and specifically in France, which is still the most popular destination as of March 31, 2023, could recover more slowly than anticipated in 2023 and rely on the diaspora as a result. Additionally, it's possible that most of China's international travel in 2023 will be regional and Asian, particularly to Bali and Hong Kong, which were the top two travel destinations for Chinese citizens as of March 31, 2023.

The period of the health crisis has further reinforced the weight of digital leverage (e-commerce, live streaming, influence, short videos), which international destinations are putting in place, in partnership with Chinese BATBs / OTAs, to attract new Chinese tourists. By 2024, outbound Chinese tourism could reach 180 million (20% more than in 2019).

There are still several challenges to a quick rebound in Chinese outbound travel to Europe, particularly in France.

• Air connections

Only 8 flights per week currently connect France and China; this number will increase to over 90, or 9%, in 2019. This number might be capped at 18 for the summer. Air France pays more on fuel (+20%) as a result of Russia not being overflew, which reduces the number of flights it operates. In that frame, the number of flights between China and France is reduced as a result of a 2017 agreement, which mandates that there must be an equal number of flights operated by 4 Chinese and 1 French air line companies between China and France.

• Delays in obtaining and number of passports issued
• Staffing shortage in the tourism industry

In the European Union, there are 1.2 million unfilled tourist positions, 71,000 of which will remain unfilled in France. Aviation is one of the industries with the highest percentage of vacancies.

By March 31, 2025, 65% of Chinese people (with France and Hong Kong as their top two destinations) planned to travel within a year.

Hong-Kong and France first destination choice

Chinese tourists' preferences for travel to Asia have shifted three months after travel restrictions abroad were relaxed. Japan dropped from first to sixth place in January and February, most likely as a result of the Covid restrictions (see the Chinese tourism letter from January 14 : How is Chinese tourism in Asia recovering?); this was to the advantage of Hong Kong, which increased visibility operations, and Bali, which from January made sure to increase the number of direct flights from China with health requirements (limited to one vaccine) lighter than many Asian countries, such as Japan. In 2019, 43.5 million people traveled to Hong Kong from the Chinese mainland, while in some parts of Indonesia, 80% of visitors were Chinese.

France, which occupied the 12th spot in January 2023, is the only European location to appear in the top 10 places where Chinese visitors aspire to travel.

Regarding France, Atout France - The France Tourism Development Agency notes that 31% of Chinese tourists who plan to travel abroad want to visit France.The 60th anniversary of our diplomatic relations and the year of cultural tourism between France and China will both occur in 2024. The meeting in 2024 must be of utmost significance in our relationship, and I sincerely hope that our Chinese friends will continue to desire more than ever to visit our nation and experience the landscapes, culture, and cuisine that awaits them. Excerpt from the President of the Republic's speech to the French community in China, delivered on April 5, 2023

Will the year 2023 see a rise not only in regional chinese tourism in Asia but also in diaspora chinese tourism in the world ?

Due to their accessibility by rail or air from Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Bali consistently rank as the top two destinations for Chinese tourists visiting Asia. Due to the challenges preventing the rapid recovery of Chinese tourism in the rest of the globe, travel to Asia may therefore become the first viable option for international travel in 2023. In 2023, Asia might account for more Chinese travelers than it did in 2019 (85%).

In light of this, certain European tourist destinations are thinking about reaching out to the Chinese diaspora in Europe. For some of these places, maintaining the connection with Chinese tourists has involved working closely with Chinese BATBs and OTAs.

Precisely in 2022, Alibaba Flggy foresaw this trend and capitalized on it by providing a "World Cup" offer to the Chinese diaspora based in France. A tourism plan is possible with this kind of offer on two levels:

1. These Chinese diaspora travelers update their Chinese social network on the French or European location they recently visited.
2. ???The BATB and OTAs are testing their offerings and getting ready for when Chinese travelers from China are expected to return in large numbers, such as during the summer of 2024 for the Olympics.

Will Chinese tourists from the diaspora in Europe visit France and other countries in greater numbers in 2023? Will we ever think about incorporating Chinese tourism from the diaspora into Chinese tourism in Europe?

After Covid, the Chinese internet ecosystem's continued presence is crucial for planning Chinese tourists' return.

From WeChat/Weibo domination (2015-2019) to a global influence system, short videos and livestreaming propulsed by BATBs/OTAs for Chinese tourists (from 2020)

Prior to a few years ago, the effectiveness and rivalry of foreign websites in the Chinese digital ecosystem were primarily assessed by how well their content performed on WeChat and Weibo. An article's readership, user base, and interactions were carefully examined. The health issue spurred the late 2010s-era expansion of the Chinese social network platforms and parameters that international destinations must take into account. The Chinese digital ecosystem has forced OTAs, KOLS, search engines, short films (Tik Tok / Douyin, WeChat Channel, Kuaishou), and tourist livestreaming (Fliggy, TikTok) on places that wish to participate.

By analyzing pertinent factors (all social media + search index), Sohu.com has just released a Brand Influence Rankings of Global Outbound Destinations in China (Spring 2023) report. Cristiano Varotti is appreciated.

While 5 Asian locations monopolize the top 5, 85% of Chinese tourists in 2019 traveled to Asia, which is also the region from which they have been departing for a few weeks. France is the top worldwide and European tourism destination for Chinese visitors in 2019, coming in behind Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and Germany.

Three different sorts of virtual tours of the Palace of Versailles, specifically for Chinese visitors, and Alibaba's approach to assisting luxury firms in serving Chinese tourists

The Palace of Versailles, which had 1.3 million Chinese tourists in 2019 (i.e. 60% of Chinese tourists who came to France), has long understood the usefulness of being present in the Chinese digital ecosystem. Different types of virtual tours are offered to tourists, especially Chinese.

1. With the aid of Google Arts and Culture, "? Versailles VR : The Palace is yours was created. Visitors can freely roam the spacious residences and the Hall of Mirrors while experiencing unpublished cultural content and the opportunity to manipulate countless works of art and pieces of art furniture from all directions while wearing helmets.

2. Alibaba or Tik tok Livestreaming

In 2020, Madame Catherine Pegard, President of the Palace of Versailles, will presented a live broadcast from the Palace of Versailles via Fliggy. To entice Chinese visitors to return if travel restrictions are eased, live behind-the-scenes tours were offered.

3. Virtually Versailles

The immersive exhibition "Virtually Versailles," which was created as a starting point for exploring the Palace, aims to introduce visitors to the world of Versailles using the most cutting-edge technologies: the course provides an interactive, olfactory, and auditory dive into the Palace's universe and its domain. To enable as many people as possible to learn about Versailles, its history, and its collections, the Palace of Versailles intends to deploy the Virtually Versailles display in new parts of the world.

The immersive installation Virtually Versailles is once again aiming to reach worldwide audiences by unfolding in Hong Kong as part of the festival after enticing tourists in Singapore in 2018 (ION Orchard), then in Shanghai in 2021 (Xintiandi Style). Before shifting to Macao on July 28, 2023, #FrenchMay will run from April 19 to July 9, 2023.

"This exhibit aims to provide the rest of the globe with a vacation to #Versailles. Due to its rich culture and historic status as a link between the east and the west, Hong Kong is the ideal location for this event.Catherine Pegard.

See also: The Palace of Versailles is attracting Chinese visitors once more with a variety of immersive activities, article from TOM.travel

Alibaba proposes options to preserve the connection with tourists through Fliggy's tourist livestreaming (see the article : Will Livestream second generation and NFT disrupt the tourism ?) or by assisting luxury brands in Paris and London to cater to Chinese tourists, whether before or after the health crisis. Mei C. and Nicolas C.

About Alibaba precisely, Duncan Clark , founder and president of BDA, LLC china, presents in video the plans of Alibaba to divide its activities into six main units. He chats with Bloomberg's Kathleen Hays and Haidi Stroud-Watts on Bloomberg "Bloomberg Daybreak: Australia." (Source: Bloomberg)

It is obvious that one of the six units is devoted to the Cloud and #artificialintelligence before determining whether this reorganization of the #Alibaba group could foreshadow that of other Chinese BATBs or affect tourism via the subsidiary Fliggy . In this regard, the Alibaba Group recently introduced #TongyiQianwen, a Chinese and English-language variant of #ChatGPT that will be used on all of its products. In order to stay competitive, businesses across all industries have started to embrace intelligence transformation, according to the CEO. "We are at a technological crossroads driven by generative AI and cloud computing," the CEO stated. CEO of Alibaba Cloud and the Alibaba Group.

Zoom on a Chinese city: Chongking 4D Magic city, the city with 31 million inhabitants. Thanks to Arnold Ma

xxxx

According Forward Keys the number of flights between France and China this summer should be at 18% of what it was before the health crisis, while those between France and Spain, Germany, and Italy should be at 27%, 46%, and 97% of that level, respectively. Prior to the President of the Republic's state visit to China, Augustin de Romanet (CEO of AEROPORTS DE PARIS ), Sébastien Bazin ( 雅高 ), Nicolas Houzé ( Galeries Lafayette ), and Henri Giscard d'Estaing ( Club Med ) wrote to the President of the Republic. The stakes are quite high, says Christian MANTEI , president of Atout France, "for Paris in particular, having Chinese tourists is important.

If, as some predicted at the time, Chinese outbound travel reached 500 million in 2030, would the goal be to someday welcome 5 million Chinese visitors to France, as it was in 2014–2015?

Chinese outbound tourism in 2023 may surprise critics, especially those concerned with its carbon footprint, the cult of numbers, and desirability, while we wait to see if these hypotheses are true.

Before the final barriers to a return to normal in Europe are removed, Chinese tourism in 2023 may be 85% more Asian than it was in 2019.

In the name of "international revenge travel" (according to the term coined by 麦肯锡 ) after 3 years of frustration, will Chinese tourism in France in 2023 look like international tourism in France in 2022, fewer in number but more spendthrift than in 2019? For the record, the figures for Chinese tourism in France in 2019 were: 3% of stays, 7% of expenditure €3.5 billion in revenue.

Especially since this trend intersects with Chinese trends accelerated or accelerated by the Covid; tourist livestreaming, short video, influence, individualization and concomitant rise in power of Generation Z connected to the search for innovation (short video, tourist livestreaming, influence, e-commerce) and immersive experiences more sensitive than its elders to ecology and rural tourism.

Will the return of (less numerous and more spendthrift) Chinese and Asian tourists in 2023 be sustainable? to address a subject that is important to Christian Delom . The third edition of a A World for Travel that will take placein Sevilla on October 18 and 19, 2023, and this would make a interesting topic for a round table discussion.