Popular travel destination for Chinese tourists would likely change in the next few years

The outbound tourism market of China is still growing and the world’s major travel destinations will take more measures to attract more Chinese tourists. However, not all of them will be successful.

According to the predictions of CLSA, Chinese travelers will take 200 million international trips annually by 2020, and Chinese tourists will make up 14% of all international tourists worldwide. But the increase speed will gradually slow down.

By the competition of winning more Chinese tourists, some countries and regions are going to be more successful than others. On the other hand, some destinations which are famous now will likely lose their Chinese customers in the future. Hong Kong and Macau, which are currently very popular destinations for Chinese tourists, will possibly see a decline of tourist numbers in the future. Especially Hong Kong will be struck with the decreasing number of its mainland visitors.

For the first 11 months of 2015, the number of mainland visitors arriving in Hong Kong has already decreased by 2%. This decline could be attributed to the lack of new tourist attractions, capacity constraints and the new anti-Chinese sentiments in Hong Kong. Chinese tourists who have turned away from Hong Kong are now putting their focus on other Asian countries which have more to offer. Japan is remarkable example of this shift of interest. In the first months of 2015, about 5 million Chinese tourists visited Japan, which was a 100% increase than the 2.4 million in 2014. Countries like South Korea, Australia and Thailand are also becoming more popular among Chinese tourists. This shifting preference implies that these countries will likely benefit from the rising number of Chinese tourists in the next five years.

Australia, for example, has a very positive image among Chinese tourists for its natural environment and cultural diversity. With the number of direct airline linking the two countries increasing and visa barriers lifted, it has become more convenient for Chinese tourists to visit Australia.

Japan and South Korea have some else to attract tourists from the Middle Kingdom. Chinese tourists are deeply interested in the lower prices of cosmetics and luxury products in these two countries and would put their focus on shopping on their visit.

However, there may be some other factors which influence the decision of Chinese tourists. Currency fluctuations, visa regulations and bilateral political relationship could all change the mind of Chinese tourists who are planning to travel overseas.

Source: Jing Daily

Photo: flickr