China Outbound Tourism in 2016
The growth of China Outbound Tourism slowed down in 2016. The outbound tourists reached 59.03 million in the first half of the year, which witnessed an increase of 4.3% over the same period of 2015. China has become the top tourist source country of many countries such as Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Maldives, Russia, and United Kingdom.
Where did Chinese tourists go?
The popular destinations among Chinese outbound tourists were mainly nearby Asian countries. There are three reasons for this:
it is a relatively short journey and won’t cost too much;
short-distance trip needs shorter time and does not require a long holiday;
t
he recent frequent terrorist attacks happened in Europe make many tourists change their way to more safer Asian countries.(Chinese tourists are visiting Asian countries more often only because of fearing for their own lives due to increased terrorists attacks in European countries)
The top 7 outbound tourism countries were Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, United States and Indonesia. By end of April, Chinese mainland tourists to Thailand have been up to 3.44 million, which accounted for 27% of the total; this witnessed an increase of 27% over the same period of 2015. In the first half of 2016, outbound tourists to Japan were up to 3.0766 million which accounted for 26.26% and it increased by 41.2%.
The top ten attraction sites among Chinese outbound tourists are as follows: Phuket, Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaeo, Gyeongbok Gung, Lotte World, Sensōji, Myeong-dong, Mt Fuji, Dual Bridges Before Imperial Place, and Osaka Castle Park.
What did Chinese tourists do？
Compared with the previous tourism of sleeping in the car, go shopping and taking photos after getting off, Chinese tourists today would rather spend more time and money entertaining themselves. They were prone to pursue good quality tours such as living better, eating better, seeking more fun and spending more time in exploring attraction sites; they were more willing to experience the daily life of the locals and know more about local customs and cultures. In the first half of 2016, the average duration of stay in each destination was 2.3 days, 0.4 day more than the same period of 2015.
Who was the main force in China outbound tourism?
In the first half of 2016, female was the main force in outbound tourism. They accounted for about 58%, up to 34.394 million. The other 42% are male, about 24.7926 million.
Among all tourists, 80’s and 90’s played an important role in outbound tourism. 24% of outbound tourists, 14.1672 million, aged between 30 and 39 years old; and 20% of them, 11.806 million, aged between 20 and 29 years old.
Package tour was still the mainstream, but independent tour increased a lot
Currently, over 50% of Chinese outbound tourists still travel in group organized by travel agencies. It is mainly because many tourists travel abroad for the first time and are lack of experience; language barrier is also a main reason. Choosing tours offered by agencies can save trouble and time, as they help apply for visas, make travel plan and book tickets and accommodation, etc. According to travel agencies, the 10 hottest tourist destinations are Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, France, Italy, Switzerland, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Meanwhile, more and more tourists like independent tours because they are more flexible; they can travel freely without any restrictions. Tourists can make their own travel itinerary and go where they want to go. In the first half of 2016, the most popular destinations for independent travelers are Thailand, Maldives, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, United States, Singapore, Mauritius, Vietnam and Malaysia.
A predicted appreciation of 3.9% in second half of 2016
The predicted outbound tourist number will be about 62 million in the second half of 2016, which may show an increase of 3.9%.
Data source: China National Tourism Administration
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/tourism/2016statistics/outbound.htm
US and Japan are China's enemy - yet it is in the top 7 destination for Chinese tourists.
Pakistan is China's ally- yet it is not even in the top 7.
Food for thought
Think about the 'change in experience' factor.
Singapore, just like all Chinese societies(except maybe Hongkong)- are always authoritative, as in we cannot say what we like, we cannot do this, we cannot do that- politically.
totally no freedom of expression, not to mention SG is already a democratic country nominally.
Im not gonna spend my money on going to any country that restricts my behavior,(not talking about unruly types) speech, attire or whatsoever. I want to be able to eat and buy whatever i want.
I do not have to think hard when i pondered about the question on which country would i go to if i needed a holiday from the stresses of life. In fact, it's almost the same as those in the top 7 list above.
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on top Asian destinations for Chinese tourist- one can see they are almost always countries that are officially non-theocratic, Confucianist or those with significant Chinese populations. In other words, Chinese tourists tend to go to places in Asia where they share a cultural affinity with its people.
We don't have that many Chinese minorities. And the non-Chinese people here (Westerners/Arabs/South Asians) are not Chinese citizens, they are usually here on a work permit or a vacation.
