On average Chinese outbound travelers spent 17% less per day in a twelve-month period than the previous year – from RMB3,324 (US$508) to RMB2,849 (US$436) according to a survey from Hotels.com.
Top Chinese spenders cut back by 68%, from RMB13,800 (US$2,111) to RMB8,228 (US$1,258). That meant the majority settling on three star rather than more luxurious hotels. However, the survey also indicates the spending is expected to rebound in the next year, with one-third of travelers planning to spend more.
The survey pointed out two biggest challenges facing those providing accommodation to Chinese travelers: a lack of Mandarin-speaking staff and of China UnionPay card facilities.
When planning their next trip, Chinese travelers are particularly taking into account safety, sightseeing, dining and ease of visa applications, with the currency of the intended country not generally a factor.
According to hotel room demand on the Hotels.com China website, the most popular countries for Chinese travelers to visit in the last two years were the USA followed by Thailand. In 2015, Japan overtook Hong
Kong in third spot and Australia climbed from eighth most visited to sixth on the list.
In terms of cities, Hong Kong followed by Bangkok remained the top two from 2014 to 2015. Tokyo climbed from the ninth to fourth most visited city from 2014 to 2015 and Chiang Mai entered the top ten list in 2015.
When it comes to a wish list of countries to visit in the next 12 months, Australia came out number one at 15%. Also high on the intended travel list were Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and the Maldives.
