Chinese outbound tourism may reach 110 million in 2023 (66% of 2019 level)(Letter #160)
As early as 2023, China might reclaim its position as the world's top tourist destination (6 billion trips in China and 155 million trips in the world worth $255 million in 2019).The resumption of international flights for Chinese tourists is gradual even though the number of nations from which they can travel in groups has recently been raised to 60. Prior trends like individualization and digitization have been accelerated over the 2020–2022 period, while new ones like #livestreaming (270 million viewers in 2020) and #sustainabletourism (Chinese positions taken in favor of Positive Nature Tourism) have also emerged.
The pattern of travel consumption in China has concurrently changed from a focus on the location to a focus on the experience and interest, which significantly fractures demand, as Fliggy 飞猪 recalls.
Given this situation, travel service providers and destinations are compelled to spend more time analyzing changes in Chinese tourist consumers' behavior and figuring out how to best suit their diverse needs. In addition, depending on the location, a solution (digital tools, missions in China) and a suitable schedule should be developed in advance of their actual return.
In fact, if the projection for Chinese domestic tourism in 2023 (77% of the 2019 level with 4.55 billion trips and 4000 billion Yuan earned), were to be followed outward tourism may, possibly, surpass 50% of its level in 2019 as early as 2023. This suggests that the outbound travel figures for the Chinese National Day on 2023 October 1 will be the first to closely reflect those of 2019.
1/ The health crisis accelerated or highlighted new travel trends in China.
UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili , led a delegation that attended the official border reopening ceremony in Hangzhou and expressed his appreciation for the removal of travel restrictions, which will significantly spur economic growth and social change in Asia and the Pacific as well as globally. "The moment the world has been waiting for" is the reopening of China's borders, he said. Hu Heping, Chinese Minister of Culture and Tourism, and Zurab Pololikashvili decided to continue building their partnership . This was done in an effort to get tourism on the agenda of international development cooperation as well as in the key areas of tourism education and tourism for rural development.
Is sustainable tourism becoming a trend in China?
The UNWTO and China emphasized the importance of tourism for rural development during this summit. Yucun, one of the four Chinese locations to achieve the UNWTO's designation as one of the "#BestTourismVillages," welcomed the UNWTO group. The hamlet had won praise for its dedication to turning tourism into a local source of employment, as well as for its dedication to ecotourism and its innovative strategy for waste management at the destination level.
Tourism is being reconsidered by both public and private sectors.
The Global Tourism Alliance (ATA) invited UNWTO to participate in the Xianghu Dialogue, which was held in the city of Hangzhou. A New Paradigm for a New Tourism was the focus of the event, which brought together public and private sector leaders to reconsider the direction of the industry in light of its top priorities of sustainability, equality, and resilience.The promotion of cooperative tourism development between nations and regions, international cooperation and poverty reduction through tourism, smart connectivity, management and planning of destinations, as well as innovation and new business models, were some of the main topics covered during these two days.The Hangzhou-based Alibaba met with the UNWTO mission.
China as a key tourism partner
China plans to help UNWTO in a number of crucial priority areas in 2022, including #NaturePositiveTourism , which UNWTO has added to the agenda of the Conference of the United Nations on Biodiversity (COP15), which China will be presiding over. During the Global Tourism Economic Forum (#GTEF ), which will take place in Macao, UNWTO will visit China once more in September. For governmental authorities, corporate management, specialists, and academics, this tenth edition of the Forum will once more serve as a forum for promoting collaborative projects in support of the sustainable development of tourism.
The rate at which their profile is changing has accelerated
Demand has become significantly more fragmented as China's travel consumption pattern has changed from destination-focused to experience-focused and interest-focused.
With the reintroduction of domestic tourism in 2020–2022, Fliggy capitalized on Chinese travelers' wishes for overseas travel between 2020 and 2022 by converting its e-commerce livestreaming "I see now, I buy now" into livestreaming "dream now, travel later" tourism. With the tourism destination director acting as an influencer, the promotion of the destination visbility (British Museum, Louvre Museum, Chateau de Versailles) was done similarly than the promotion of a perfum or a lipstick. Also, there is a tourist product available online that allows users to book future dates to come to the museum in London anytime in the 3 following years.
Fliggy has not only surfed but also contributed to the acceleration of travel's digitalization in this aspect. And this was done by preserving a connection with tourists through a collection of the travel objectives and expectations provided in the livestreaming remarks.
Big data helped Fliggy/Alibaba (or Alidata) to continue operating during the Covid, allowing it to maintain relationships with Chinese tourists (extended to the diaspora during the Qatar World Cup in 2022): see letter Soon 372 million Chinese tourists in the world? What do the flimsy signs of Chinese tourism resurgence around the world indicate? for the resumption of ticket reservations and hotel bookings in the Chinese domestic market, and then gradually at the international level, and be in a favorable position alongside other travel players like CTrip App .
In the first two months of 2023, Chinese customers on Fliggy raised the number of outgoing and inbound flight bookings by more than 4.5 times year over year . At the same time period, the platform also reported a 190% growth in outbound flight tourist product orders, including international local tours, scenic site tickets, and online visa processing services.
2) 4.55 billion domestic trips in 2023?
Theme parks, witnesses of the recovery of domestic tourism
During the seven-day Chinese New Year holiday in 2023, visitors to Universal Beijing Resort soared by 170% from the previous year .To evoke the Chinese design, five paper-cut lanterns featuring figures from universal movies were strung beneath the entrance arch. The most popular performance is the one that took place on Hollywood Boulevard and features two dancing lions who stand on stage to represent happiness and luck. This park has been a part of the universal studios brand since September 2021, making it the third in Asia and the fifth overall.
"Everyone was anticipating the day when everything would get back to normal", according to Shanghai resident Zhou Huilin, who traveled to Beijing to see her family. Similar to this, traditional disney figures like mickey and minnie mouse appeared in the "Shanghai disney resort" (shown above), the first disneyland park in China.
Visitors "want a genuine Chinese New Year and also something exceptional that gives them an immersive experience in which they can connect with the characters of Universal," according to Mr. Hoskin, the director of universal Beijing resort.
4.55 domestic trips, worth 4000 billion ￥ (580 billion $)
@Ly.com, China's TO, noted the interest of tourists in theme parks, museums, and fairgrounds in its report on tourism consumption during the 2023 Spring Festival holidays. It also noted that many young Chinese people are interested in intangible cultural heritage elements and have preferred tourism around them.
Similar travel trends for the 2023 Chinese New Year holidays support the China Tourism Academy's prediction that domestic travel in China will increase by 4.55% by 2023, bringing in 4000 billion ￥ (580 billion $), or 76% of the amount in 2019.
What if this rebound in Chinese internal tourism in 2023 (assumed to reach 76% of the 2019 level), which has significant cultural overtones among young people in particular, could be applied to Chinese travel abroad?
3/ Outbound chinese tourism in 2023: 60% of the 2019 level?
China brings number of pilot destinations to 60
This theory is supported by the fact that, in order to accommodate the increased demand from Chinese tourists, China on March 15 permitted group travel to 40 new nations and areas , including Spain, France, Italy, and Denmark. There, group stays (flight + hotel) are already legal to offer and advertise through travel agents. Only lone travelers were permitted to visit up until recently. These 40 nations or regions are added to the 20 places where China already allowed group travel on February 6 (see list below).
See Chinese Tourism Newsletter #159 : : Will Chinese outbound tourism reach 30% of its 2019 level in 2023?
List of 40 countries or regions: Nepal, Brunei, Vietnam, Mongolia, Iran, Jordan, Tanzania, Namibia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Zambia, Senegal, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Serbia, Croatia, France, Greece, Spain, Iceland, Albania, Italy, Denmark, Portugal, Slovenia, Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Panama, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Dominica and the Bahamas.
领英推荐
China's tourists favor visiting Vietnam, Italy, Serbia, France, and Spain during the next early May holidays and the summer.
According to the 77% increase in click-through rates for international travel on the Tongcheng Tours website and the 4-fold increase in the number of visas for the 40 new countries or areas, China's visitors are particularly interested in Vietnam, Italy, Serbia, France (see below), and Spain.
The launch of this group of 40 new test locations, according to Cheng Chaogong, director of research at the Tongcheng Research Institute, improves the connection of travel routes in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Pacific area. There will be an increase in tourism.Due to the increase in international flights, the cost of flights departing China keeps constantly declining. So, he continued, the outbound tourism market might expand during China's summer vacation and around the May Day holiday.
Chinese visitors have been visiting Vietnam again since March 15. But, three years after the epidemic began, tourist industry experts are putting forth effort to satisfy the unique needs of this clientele. Three years of plague without this audience have forced some businesses to close or modify their offerings to more affordable levels. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, China accounted for more over 5.8 million visits to Vietnam in 2019, or about a third of all foreign travelers. Almost 4.5 million Vietnamese people visited China in the same year.
What recovery of tourism in the 20 destinations since February 6, 2023?
The three tourism destinations with the fastest growth among Chinese visitors are Thailand, the Maldives, and New Zealand. Thailand has already increased its prediction for the number of Chinese visitors it expects to receive in 2023. The prior estimate, which was between 5 and 6 million, was upped by 2 million , according to Yuthasak Supasorn , governor of Thailand's tourism authority.
"The return of Chinese tourists and investment is a welcome indication for Cambodia's tourism and economy in the post-pandemic age of the COVID-19," was said in Cambodia at the moment the first flight from China arrived in Siem Reap. The director of Switzerland Tourism Martin Nydegger , one of the first Europeans to witness a resurgence of Chinese tourists, expresses caution and confidence by adding, "We do not know if the volumes will return as previously, but we are confident ."
The number of foreign and passenger flights to and from China increased from 482 flights in early January to 795 flights in early February, a 65% increase, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
4/ Tourism is a significant component of Sino-French ties
Welcome back to China !
2019's first Chinese tourist destination outside of Asia, France is making active preparations. Parallel to this, and in an effort to make personnel exchanges between China and other nations further easier, the following changes will take effect as of March 15 of 2023 (UTC +8) in China:
I. Holders of valid Chinese visas, including those issued before March 28, 2020, may enter China.
II. The Chinese Embassy and consulates in France issue all types of visas.
III. Chinese competent bodies issue port visas for legal reasons.
IV. The following visa waiver policies are reinstated: (1) Visit to Hainan Island; (2) Arrival by cruise ship at Shanghai ports; (3) Visit to Guangdong for group foreigners from Hongkong and Macao; (4) Visit to Guilin from Guangxi Province for tour groups from ASEAN countries.
The latest developments in China-France ties are also notable for:
Official visit to China by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron in April 2023
French luxury and travel businesses are actively preparing, even though it will take some time for things to return to normal.
Dong Guangli, Chinese consul general in Marseille, insists on the connections between China and the Provence Alpes C?tes d'Azur region and claims that Chinese tourists are keen to return to the South of France .
Sébastien Bazin, 雅高 Group CEO, notes that 2022 has been an exceptional year for the Accor group. He is optimistic that the "market has returned, customers have returned, "we only have the Chinese left, they are there atthe door, they will come back ."
Luxury retailers like Parisian department shops understand the needs of tourists.
In addition to a restaurant, a café, and a showroom, the Dior shop at 30 avenue Montaigne in Paris has undergone renovations to offer a suite designated for VIP clients, available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Tourists can travel there at any time of day or night and afford a suitcase for several thousand euros, even if they have severe jet lag or sleeplessness.
XXX
In the 2nd week of February 2023, Chinese international traffic was only 9% compared to the same period of 2019, recalls Simeon Shi of Fliggy. However, we expect up to 110 million Chinese border crossings in 2023, which is two-thirds of 2019," said Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt 王立基 , (Director of the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute), at the international travel fair ITB Berlin .