China’s travel market reached a total number of of 4.12 billion person-trips in 2015 according to China National Tourism Administration. China’s domestic travel market exceeded 40 million person-trips contributing over 4 trillion yuan (US$0.61 trillion) for China.
120 million travelers traveled abroad in 2015. China ranked first globally in the number of travelers and total travel spend. Data of National Tourism Data Center showed that the travel market has created 10.2% of the total jobs in China.
Korea has been a popular outbound destination for China’s travelers. The total number of 6.11 million tourists traveled to Korea in 2015 which accounted for over 40% of Korea’s inbound travelers according to CCTV financial reports.
Over 70% China’s tourists traveled to Korea for shopping in 2015, 20% for experiencing Korean culture, and the other for plastic surgery and sightseeing according to Korea Tourism Organization. Chinese travelers spent an average of US$2,200 per person in Korea, much higher than foreign travelers’ average spend in 2015.
China’s consumers spent much time in duty-free shops. Each China’s traveler spent about 2,800 yuan (US$424.57) in Lotte according to the manager of Lotte duty-free shop in Korea. The consumption was predicted to increase by at least 10% at the end of 2015. China’s tourists brought in US$22 billion for Korea accounting for 1.6% of Korea’s GDP in terms of spend on accommodation, transport, shopping, and others.
To maintain China’s outbound travelers to Korea, the Korean government was considering to provide visa-free and a package of policies according to the president of Korea.
