Tourism Source Market Insight: China (2021)

Globaldata’s Tourism Source Market Insight: China report highlights the risks of the Chinese tourism market, Chinese tourist profiles, and the impact of COVID-19 among others.

Over the past decade, outbound tourism has steadily increased (CAGR 2009 to 2019: 13.3%) as China has been gaining worldwide traction as the ‘ultimate’ source market to target due to the number of high-spending tourists traveling throughout the year. 2020 saw international departures decline by 52.2% and GlobalData’s forecasts do not expect international travel to surpass 2019 levels until at least 2022 reaching 174 million.

Chinese tourists have been spending over $300bn on outbound tourism since 2017 and in 2019, a ‘normal’ tourism year this reached US$361bn. This source market is considered some of the highest spenders in the world, not solely due to the amount spent per day – typically US$345 national tourism spend per day on international trips (2019) – but also due to the sheer mass of outbound flows. The impact of COVID-19 on outbound spending is naturally greater than on domestic (YoY decline outbound: -53.3%; domestic: -30.7%).

Complete outlook of the Chinese tourism market:

• 2020 saw domestic tourism decline by 26.5% in China. Comparative to other destinations worldwide where lockdown restrictions have been in place for longer periods, this YoY decline is low

• Despite COVID-19, China’s outbound flows still surpassed that of any destination worldwide in 2020 reaching 79 million after suffering a YoY decline of 52.1%

• COVID-19 may affect demand for city breaks short-term as, fears of infection may lead to an increase in travel away from urban areas

• Younger generations are typically the most active travelers in China with over 60% of holidays taken by those under 35 in 2019 and 2020

• The ‘Instagram ability’ of a destination is known as a prime pull factor for younger generations in Western markets and China this can be recognized as ‘daka tourism

• Amid ongoing international travel restrictions and fluctuating country requirements, Chinese tourists are likely to rely more heavily on travel intermediaries in post-pandemic travel (CAGR 2021 to 24: 6.9%)

• Quality gastronomy is a high priority. 11% of total outbound expenditure was on foodservice compared to 8% on entertainment/ sightseeing in both 2019 and 2020

• The greatest threats facing China’s development as a burgeoning source market continue to be the impact of COVID-19 and rising geopolitical tensions

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