Ready to Boost Your Business through Chinese Wealthy Tourists?

The market opportunity in China

You must have seen an increasing number of Chinese tourists visiting your country, and standing by your side when you are visiting famous tourist sites. A rising number of shops have Chinese assistants and accept Union pay. More than 120 million Chinese people have travelled abroad in 2015, which means that there is one Chinese in every ten global travelers. China’s tourists have become the leading force of international travel, boosting travelling economies worldwide. $137 billion has been spent by Chinese travelers overseas in 2015, outspending US and becoming the top travelers. The number is expected to reach $255.4 billion by 2025, up by 86 % from 2015.

This trend is largely boosted by the rising middle class in China. According to a research, those people whose household income surpasses $35,000 will start overseas travelling. Statista reported that in 2015, the middle-class households (earning more than $15,600 p.a.) in China amounted to around 298 million, and the population is still growing. Not only do more people get richer, but the travelling policies and overseas infrastructures for Chinese people are also getting more favorable. 

Popular tourist destinations

According to the survey conducted by Travelzoo, Asia-centric countries are still the most popular tourist destinations for Chinese customers in the past few years. Japan is on the top of the list, and there are other destinations as well, including Taiwan, Thailand, New Zealand, Maldives, and Australia. Besides countries around Asia, U.S.A. is ranked the second-most desirable destination for Chinese travelers. The U.S. will continually be favored by Chinese travelers due to the new visa agreement between the U.S.A. and China, which provides Chinese travelers with 10-year visas.

In future, a growing number of Chinese tourists are not satisfied with traveling within Asia, and are more willing to travel to other continents. The major barrier for Chinese tourists to travel to western countries include high travel expenses. According to McKinsey, most Chinese customers are optimistic and they think their income will continually increase in the following few years. Besides, Chinese travelers are paying more attention to lifestyle services and experiences, and many signs have shown that more people are going to spend more money on leisure and entertainment. The confidence in future financial outcome will boost purchasing and allow more budgets to be allocated for traveling.

Many overseas governments and businesses have already seen this huge opportunity in China. For example, Fred Dixon, the leader of NYC & Company, aims to attract more tourists by partnering with Shanghai for China-US Tourism Year. China is seen as an important market for New York tourism because the country has already provided the second-largest number of tourists to New York.

Who are Chinese tourists?

Hotels.com has conducted a survey investigating the demographic of Chinese travelers. Chinese tourists are younger than the rest of the world. Those aged from 25-34 compromise the largest sub-group of all age groups. More travelers are female and compromise 64 % of overall overseas tourists from China, and they are more interested in shopping and prefer countries producing high-quality goods. Besides, they are more independent-minded, tech-savvy, and shopaholics.

As the size and wealth of Chinese middle class continues to increase, more Chinese people will start traveling abroad and spend more money overseas. Are you ready for this huge opportunity from the east?