Growing Numbers of Chinese Outbound Travellers Looking to “Travel and Live Like Locals”: COTRI Director Professor Wolfgang Georg Arlt Interviewed by China Daily

In an article published on Monday December 5, 2016, COTRI Director Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt shared his thoughts with the China Daily regarding the growing trend for increasingly in-depth travel experiences among more experienced Chinese outbound travellers.

Following over a decade of rapid expansion in the market, which was often characterised by relatively inexperienced travellers sticking with more superficial engagement with well-known tourist sights, Professor Arlt explains that this pattern is changing, as “the desire of seasoned Chinese travellers to experience authenticity and nature is getting bigger”.

While in previous years it had been less of a challenge for tourism providers to attract the business of Chinese visitors that were less accustomed to international travel, Professor Arlt stated that “this easy harvest of low hanging fruit seems to have come to an end”.

Growing numbers of more independent Chinese outbound tourists are now looking for more “authentic” experiences that allow them to “travel and live like locals”, meaning that overseas service providers will need to engage more deeply with Chinese visitors and learn to tailor their products more specifically to the growing market.

While many destinations will need to learn to adapt to the growing numbers of independent Chinese travellers, this shift away from crowds of package tourists can offer a wealth of opportunities. Professor Arlt underlined that visitors that “stay longer, spend more [and] have more interest in the country” can, even in reduced numbers, be a preferable option to low yield package tourists “who look for the cheapest offer and do not really care about what they are taking photos of”.

COTRI China Outbound Tourism Research Institute provides expert insights into the worldwide developments of China’s outbound tourism market. As Chinese outbound tourists are travelling to a large range of destinations, our publications cover a number of regions, providing detailed insights and analysing visitor behaviour.

With COTRI’s insights you can forge a successful business strategy built upon in-depth market expertise, comprehensive qualitative analysis and future projections. The Autumn 2016 Edition of the COTRI Market report features in-depth exploration of the developing trends in the field, supported by a wealth of qualitative and quantitative statistical research.

Source: China Daily

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