China’s domestic travel market reached 4.44 billion person-trips in 2016, an increase of 11% YoY. The corresponding revenues totaled 3.9 trillion yuan with a growth of 14% according to China National Tourism Administration.
Inbound travelers totaled 138 billion person-trips with an increase of 3.8% YoY, among which foreign travelers were 28.142 million person-trips with an increase of 8.3%. Outbound travelers totaled 122 million person-trips, up 4.3%.
The number of domestic tourists is estimated to grow by 10% to reach 4.88 billion. domestic tourism revenue will reach 4.4 trillion yuan, an increase of 12.5%.
The number of inbound tourists in China will reach 1.4 billion, up 3.5% year-on-year; the international tourism revenue will reach US $ 126 billion, up 5% YoY. And, outbound tourists will grow by 4% to 123 million.
Outbound Travelers in 2016
China’s outbound travelers totaled 122 million person-trips in 2016 with a total spend of US$109.8 billion, 56% of which were female and close to half are millennials. China has become the top inbound traveler source country for Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Russia, Maldives, and UK.
China’s outbound travelers represent less than 10% of the population; and, only about 10% of Chinese hold passports. China’s outbound tourism market still has huge potential.
Outbound travelers spent an average of US$900 in 2016. Though the number of outbound travelers accounted for only 3% of total travelers, the total spend accounted for 16% of total.
Top 10 outbound travel destinations by total spend: Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the U.S., Maldives, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, Italy and Malaysia. And, the top 10 cities are Seoul, Bangkok, Tokyo, Osaka, Singapore, Chiang Mai, London, Moscow, New York, Rome, and Sydney.
about 40% of 122 million outbound travelers were organized by travel agencies; the rest are free and easy travelers.
In 2016, the top 20 outbound tourism source cities are Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Tianjin, Wuhan, Chongqing, Xi’an, Xiamen, Kunming, Qingdao, Changsha, Ningbo, Shenyang, Zhengzhou, Nanning, Dalian,
Thailand, South Korea, and Japan are the top three popular destinations with 8.77 million, 8.04 million, and 6 million visitors from China respectively. , respectively, 8 million 770 thousand, 8 million 40 thousand and about 6000000 mainland tourists to travel to these three countries. Go to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the fastest growing tourism, especially Vietnam, Philippines, the two countries to carry out the visa service to carry out the growth of 166%, 124%.
The top ten Chinese travel destinations with the fastest growing number of tourists are Vietnam, Philippines, India, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Some countries and regions saw decreased number of Chinese tourists including Taiwan, France, Italy, Nepal, Switzerland, Turkey, and Greece.
The top ten popular islands for Chinese outbound tourists include Phuket, Bali, Jeju Island, Okinawa, Boracay, Maldives, Sabah, Nha Trang, Saipan, and Sri Lanka. The top 10 destinations for medical tourism are Japan, South Korea, the United States, China, Taiwan, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, Switzerland, Thailand, India.
Chinese Cruise Market
China’s outbound cruise travelers exceeded 2.1 million person-trips in 2016, with an increase of 91% YoY; and, inbound cruise travelers reached 138.7 thousand person-trips, up 8% YoY.