China’s Overseas Travel Surges by 50%: Increased Demand During Spring Festival Holiday

“Thanks to Chinese New Year, the global tourism market is expected to enter its peak season for the first time in four years.” (Chinese media 36kr)

As Chinese New Year (February 10-17) approaches, expectations are growing for the “return of Chinese tourists.” There are predictions that the global tourism market will revive as a large number of Chinese people go abroad for vacations this year.

The China Tourism Research Institute predicted, in its “China Overseas Travel Progress Annual Report (2023-2024)” released on February 4th, that the number of Chinese tourists going abroad this year would increase by 49% from last year (87 million) to 130 million.

The report analyzed that “As the will to travel abroad among tourists strengthens, the demand for overseas travel will recover, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region.”

It is expected that a large number of young Chinese people with high educational backgrounds, who have been restricted from traveling due to COVID-19, will go abroad. According to the report, 82.8% of overseas travelers are aged 22-41, and 74.36% have a college degree or higher. Freelancers are the most common occupation, and the average income level is 100,000-200,000 yuan (approximately $14,000-$28,000). They chose their travel destinations based on transportation convenience, local prices, food, etc. In particular, more than a third of them chose accommodations based on cost-effectiveness rather than luxury hotels.

Last year, China celebrated Chinese New Year without travel restrictions for the first time in three years, along with the transition to “Endemic COVID-19.” However, the sudden easing of quarantine had side effects such as a surge in the number of people infected with COVID-19, and overseas travelers as well as returnees have only recovered to half the level of 2019. Therefore, it is predicted that the suppressed demand will explode this year.

The demand for overseas travel of Chinese people is expected to surge from the upcoming Chinese New Year. According to data provided by the Chinese online travel platform Feizhu, the number of overseas travel reservations (as of last month’s 18th) during Chinese New Year increased 15 times compared to the same period last year. According to a report recently released by another Chinese online travel agency, Tongcheng, the search volume for overseas flight tickets departing from February 8 to 17 surged seven times compared to the same period last year, surpassing the 2019 level. The most popular overseas travel destinations were Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Japan, in that order. South Korea ranked eighth.

China’s significant relaxation of its visa policy also fuels the demand for overseas travel. Last year, China took measures to exempt entry visas for five European Union (EU) countries (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain) and Malaysia, and this year, it expanded its visa-free policy to Switzerland, Ireland, Singapore, and Thailand. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also considering a visa-free policy for Japan.

Meanwhile, Chinese authorities estimated that 900 million people will be on the move during this Chinese New Year as travelers flock home or go on trips. This is about twice the number of mobile population recorded during last year’s Chinese New Year, 473.3 million, and the largest ever. It is more than the 884.7 million mobile population during Chinese New Year before the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2019.