Six million Chinese tourists are expected to travel abroad during the Chinese New Year holiday season

The Chinese outbound tourism is expected to reach a new peak during this Golden Week of the Chinese New Year. According to Chinese travel agencies LY.com and Tuniu, over 60% of all the travelers are going overseas. Comparing with travel destinations in China, the destinations in foreign countries are undoubtedly more attractive for Chinese tourists. Furthermore, this trend is likely to become the new fashion of the Chinese New Year. The New Year is traditionally the time for family reunion, just like Christmas in Western countries. However, as Chinese people are becoming more affluent and thus wish to grasp the opportunity to escape from the daily routine, travelling abroad has become the popular activity for Chinese families during the Golden Week of the New Year.

The demands of Chinese tourists are also becoming more diverse. Many of them are no longer of content of merely shopping and taking picture. They are now in pursue of more customized services. One example would be travelling with cruise ships. This form of travelling is relatively new in China and has gain considerable growth in the coming Golden Week. According to a report of LY.com, number of travelers taking part in a cruise ship tour has increased for 39.64% comparing with last year, and all the available tours are popular.

What accompanies the shift the travelling demands is the requirement for a better accommodation. For many foreign destinations, Chinese tourist prefer to spend their money on shopping while choosing cheap hotels of hostels. This is also about to change. For the Golden Week of 2016, the demand for hotels with high rating far exceed the expectations. Over 60% of the travelers are booking hotel with 4 or 5 stars. Meanwhile, Chinese tourists are now not confined to the most famous foreign travel destination. According to the statistics of Ctrip, Chinese tourists cover more than 100 countries and regions worldwide, including destinations like Antarctica.

There is a remarkable new development this year regarding the Chinese outbound tourism. More than 50% of customers book their trip online, even for the products of high prices. This reflects the confidence of the customers in the convenience of online transactions. For those who book a trip online, more than 90% of them would also refer to the comments and ratings of the service before making a decision. This would also motivate the travel agencies to keep improving their services.

According to the CEO of LY.com, booking travel services online allows the customers to evaluate the products from different perspectives and choose the one which suits their needs best. With the number of tourists booking their trips online increasing, this Chinese New Year holiday season may become the “smartest” holiday reason in history.

Source: Sina

Photo: flickr