In the first half of 2017, the number of Chinese who went to Japan exceeded 3.282 million, showing an increase of 6.67%. Compared to the growth rate of more than 20% in the past two years, growth significantly slowed down.

In the first half of 2017, Chinese travellers in Korea dropped by 40.97% to 2.253 million. However, the total number of Chinese passengers to Southeast Asia (SEA) soared, exceeding 10 million people in half a year. Therefore, it can be assumed that there is a shift in the travel demand from Japan and South Korea to countries in SEA.

Chinese Tourism to Thailand 

In September 2016, since Thailand rectified its “zero tour fees” policy, with the addition of the king’s passing, China’s tourism market to Thailand was impacted. In the first half of 2017, recovery is seen for China’s tourism market in Thailand, hitting about 4.712 million people, only down slightly by 3.8%.

From the Sino-Thai aviation market’s observation, regardless of the impact of the Spring Festival factors, the capacity from January-July 2017 has already exceeded the same period in 2016. Looking to the second half of 2017, despite the late Thailand king’s funeral in October 2017 which is likely to impact the industry, the number of Chinese tourists in Thailand is still likely to exceed last year, having a breakthrough of 9 million people.

Chinese Tourists to Cambodia 

In recent years, the number of Chinese travellers to Cambodia has grown steadily. In 2016, 830,000 Chinese travellers visited Cambodia, an increase of 19.47%. In the first half of 2017, Cambodia received 2.66 million international tourists, an increase of 12.8%, of which Chinese tourists accounted for 530,000 tourists, an increase of 39.9%.

From the current trend, the number of Chinese tourists to Cambodia is expected to exceed 1 million people in 2017. It is also worth mentioning that, with the continued warming of Sino-Cambodian relations, the number of business travellers to Cambodia has increased rapidly.

Chinese Tourists to Vietnam

From January-July 2017, the number of Chinese travellers in Vietnam is 2.217 million people, a substantial increase of 51%, with Vietnam becoming the most travelled to the destination in SEA for Chinese tourists. In the second half of 2017, if Sino-Vietnamese relations are stable, the total number of Chinese travellers in Vietnam in the entire year is expected to have a breakthrough of 4 million people.

Chinese Tourists to Singapore

Currently, Singapore only has the numbers from January-May 2017, whereby the number of Chinese tourists in Singapore reached 1.335 million, an increase of 6.67%. Following Singapore Airlines Air Navigation and Tiger Airways’ complete integration, there are plans to continue to expand China Airlines’ routes. From the observation of current trends, the number of Chinese travellers in Singapore in 2017 is expected to exceed 3 million people.

Chinese Tourists to Malaysia 

Currently, Malaysia has also only released numbers from January-May 2017, and the number of Chinese tourists in Malaysia reached 905,300, an increase of 7.79%. From the current market situation, the number of Chinese passengers travelling to Malaysia has been restored to the number pre-“Malaysia Airlines” incident.

Benefitting from China and ASEAN’s open sky policy and low-cost aviation development, the aviation market between China and ASEAN countries continue to grow. There is also a trend of development towards small countries (eg. Brunei) and small cities (eg. Hat Yai, Cambodia).

Since the market size is expanded, competition is heightened, and even small charter companies tried to adopt the China aviation route. In the open market system, however, continued efforts are still required to promote the healthy development of the aviation market and to have orderly competition.

Cross-border online shopping of South Korea products saw fast growth in 2016 with Chinese consumers the fastest.

Consumers in Greater China areas bought 584.2 billion won (US$5 billion) worth of products from South Korea via online shopping in 2016 with an increase of 74.8% compared to 2015 according to KOSTAT. Overall, foreign online shoppers bought 721.9 billion won (US$6.22 billion) products from South Korea.

South Korea cosmetics is the most attractive product category for foreign buyers. In the fourth quarter of 2016, foreign consumers spent 54.7 billion won (US$ 465 million) in the purchase of Korean cosmetics, accounting for 74.9% of South Korea’s cross-border online shopping sales.

The second most popular product category is fashion and accessories, contributing 10.8 billion won (US$86 million) to the South Korean economy.

South Korea’s total sales of retail e-commerce (excluding travel) will reach US$52.61 billion in 2017 according to eMarketer.

Also read: China cross-border e-commerce insights 2016/2017

The National Day holiday in China is the last holiday of the year and the longest one with 7 days starting on 1 October. China Railway is about to receive 110 million person trips during this year’s National Day holiday, an increase of 11.3% compared with 2015.

This short video, shot today (National Day) at Great Wall of China, illustrates how crowded it could be during holidays in China pic.twitter.com/4hY8Sqf84q

— China Internet Watch (@ChinaInternet) October 3, 2016

It’s peak season for the tourism industry. People travel, domestic or abroad. Among outbound travelers, the most popular destinations remain Thailand, South Korea, and Japan.

The number of person trips totaled 2.236 billion in the first half of 2016 with an increase of 10.5% YoY according to China’s National Tourism Administration. Safety, sightseeing, dining, visa, and currency are top factors when Chinese outbound travelers choose the destination.

Read more: https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/18860/chinese-intl-traveler-2016/#ixzz4Ld1Uhtw8

Alipay launched Global Future Airports Program this week, aiming to provide not only payment solutions but also convenient services for travelers. From this Saturday, the National Day, the cooperating airports will be opened to Alipay users including:

• Munich Airport
• Tokyo Narita International Airport
• Singapore Changi International Airport
• Osaka Kansai International Airport
• Seoul Incheon International Airport
• Auckland International Airport
• Bangkok International Airport
• Hong Kong International Airport
• Taoyuan International Airport
• Macau International Airport

Alipay has been making efforts for overseas markets in recent years; and, as of August 2016, Alipay is available at over 80,000 retail stores outside China.

WeChat Payment is offering cash rebate (in the form of Hongbao, red envelope) if outbound travelers use WeChat Payment in cooperating oversea retail stores.

With the growing number of the middle class, China’s outbound travel spend will be near twice the amount of the U.S. ($134 billion), reaching $255.4 billion by 2025 according to a joint survey by Visa and Oxford Economics.

Continue reading: China outbound tourism market overview 2016

The number of China’s total outbound tourists has increased from 47.66 million in 2009 to 120 million in 2015; the growth rate was 12.1%. Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea the most popular destinations for Chinese travelers in 2016.

China millennials, also known as Generation Y or post-80s and post-90s by Chinese marketers, account for 25% of the total population and 73% of outbound tourists in China according to GfK.

In 2015, China’s outbound tourists spent 215 billion dollars in total, with a growth rate of 30.5%.

Related: China online travel market overview for Q1 2016

62.8% of China’s outbound online travel users take group trips with travel agents while the others take Free & Easy trips (self-guided tours).

In terms of outbound online group trips with travel agents, the total transaction in 2010 was 2.11 billion yuan (USD 314.15 million); and, it increased to 23.16 billion yuan (USD 3.46 billion) in 2015.

The total transaction of outbound free & easy trips in 2011 reached 450 million yuan (USD 67.32 million); and, it increased to 13.72 billion yuan (USD 2.05 billion) in 2015.

56.9% of China’s online travel users had an outbound travel in the past year; and, 30.8% of the outbound travel users chose free & easy trips while 23.3% users chose group trips with travel agents.

30.8% of China’s outbound online travel users prefer free & easy trips.

80.8% outbound online travel users obtain information through search engines, social networks (73.3%) and offline channels (66.2%).

67.1% outbound online travel users listed sightseeing as a reason for outbound travel, followed by relaxing (54.8%), learning something (37.4%), and shopping (36.6%).

Japan and South Korea are the most popular outbound destinations for Chinese online travel users, accounting for 32%.

About 84% outbound online travel users travel overseas more than once; 41.25% for 2 to 3 times.

60.5% Chinese outbound online travel users consider the fine sceneries an important factor for selecting outbound travel destinations, followed by cost (52%).

52.4% outbound online travel users have a trip on annual leaves; and, 25.2% on golden weeks.

46.7% outbound online travel users prefer trips for 7 to 10 days.

45.6% outbound online travel users are couples or lovers, followed by family members & relatives (21.3%) and friends & classmates (15.2%).

43.8% outbound online travel users prefer booking standard package.

In terms of booking devices, 54.2% outbound online travel users prefer using desktop computers.

37.2% outbound online travel users prefer using Alipay for payment, followed by ATM card (29%) and online banking (17.3%).

On desktops, 64.3% outbound online travel users used WeChat for payment while there are 70.4% users use online banking on mobile.

38% of China’s outbound online travel users spend an average of 5,001 to 10,000 yuan in their trips; 35.4% spend 10,001 to 20,000 yuan.

The top spending category is shopping (41%), followed by transportation (23.6%).

91.7% users use financial products; of which, 28.3% users prefer the third party financial products; and, 45.9% users prefer insurance.

To purchase in outbound trips, 71.2% users prefer referring to travel guides, followed by friends’ recommendations (53.6%) and channels of local travel websites (52.1%).

The most frequently used services in outbound travels are map navigation (52.9%), mobile Wi-Fi (48.3%), and tax refund (45.9%).

62.9% outbound online travel users prefer sharing information on social networking sites.

Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea are the most potential destinations for Chinese outbound online travel users to travel in 2016.

Fine sceneries, safety, and cost are top 3 factors that influence both the actual and the potential outbound travel users in choosing travel destinations.

38.9% potential outbound travel users prefer booking on the desktop; and, 33.1% prefer booking on mobile.

The top 3 factors for choosing travel products by potential outbound travel users are good value for money (73%), product variety (60.9%), and high popularity of websites (59.3%).

27% potential outbound online travel users prefer Free & Easy trips; 19.3% prefer Free & Easy trips + Tour guides.

37.7% potential outbound travel users prefer booking on the same websites while 35.1% prefer using different websites.

China outbound travel users are young (56.3% users are between 25 to 35 y-o), high intelligent (over 60% of them have a university degree and 31% are middle managements), high income (21.7% users earn 10,000 yuan, USD 1498, monthly); and, the male (66.6%) are more than the female (33.4%).

In terms of regions, 15.6% outbound online travel users come from Guangdong, followed by Shanghai (13.5%), and Beijing (12.8%).

China millennials, also known as Generation Y or post-80s and post-90s by Chinese marketers, account for 25% of the total population and 73% of outbound tourists in China according to GfK.

China had 109 million outbound tourists who spent a total amount of US$229 billion on shopping in 2015 according to GFK. The top five most popular travel destinations of Chinese travelers have been South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan since the beginning of 2016.

China “Millennials” focus on good outbound travel experience, which is both spiritual and material. 15% surveyed by GfK enjoy the experience on luxury travel, 33% on gourmet food, 37% on history and culture, 49% on nature, and 44% on adventure and excitement.

In the recent 15 years, the consumption value of Chinese consumers has tremendously changed. In travel, group travel enthusiasm waned, and the free and easy trips are becoming mainstream. China ‘Millennials’ desire to integrate into the global culture makes destinations with historical and cultural attractions more attractive. Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand are in the top positions while Hong Kong, who has rich resources of shopping, continues to lose Chinese tourists.

China millennials tend to book their free and easy trips in advance; so, marketing campaigns targeting specific holidays should launch one to two months in advance. Chinese tourists to Japan and Taiwan booked their trips one to two months in advance; those to South Korea one month according to GfK.

A total number of 220 million Chinese residents will travel overseas with a total spend of $450 billion in 2025, up from 120 million residents spending $250 billion in 2015 according to Goldman Sachs’ report.

Read more: China Luxury Hotel Users Insight

Chinese Tax-Free Shopping spend dropped into negative growth falling -24% year-on-year in March 2016 according to last month’s Globe Shopper Report by Global Blue.

Schengen biometric visa demands – ease of obtaining a visa is an important consideration for 22% of regular Chinese travellers when choosing a holiday destination according to the report. And, May and October set to be busy months for travel as Chinese tourists take advantage of public holidays.

Despite the recent negative growth, Chinese shoppers remain the largest Tax Free Shopping market, accounting for a third of global sales. Shopping remains a hugely important part of the holiday experience for regular Chinese travellers, as 81% of those planning international travel in 2016 will shop during their trip.

China had 109 million outbound tourists who spent a total amount of US$229 billion on shopping in 2015 according to GFK.

The Global Blue report also shows that the average shopping budget of Chinese shoppers will be 25,902 yuan per trip to Europe and 18,398 yuan per trip to Asia.

Asia is set to be the primary recipient of Chinese visitors throughout the year, with almost three-quarters (73%) of those planning a holiday in 2016 intending to travel within the region. South Korea is
predicted to become the most visited destination with over a quarter (26%) of regular Chinese travellers planning a trip this year, while Japan follows with 23%.

When it comes to Chinese Tax-Free Shopping spend within Asia, Japan was the region’s strongest performer during Q1, showing +50% growth. During this period, Chinese shoppers accounted for 54% of APAC’s Tax-Free Shopping sales. The number of Chinese Tax-Free Shopping transactions in Asia also increased +32% during Q1 2016, indicating that visitor numbers are up by proxy.

Despite the challenges associated with the new Schengen biometric visa requirements and recent terror attacks, 41% of regular Chinese travellers planning a holiday in 2016 intend to visit Europe. France
(16%) is the most popular European destination followed by Germany (8%), Italy (6%) and the UK (6%).

The research also revealed the top five services that should be offered by retailers looking to attract Chinese Globe Shoppers:

1. Tax Free Shopping (65%)
2. Ability to pay with China Union Pay (55%)
3. Ability to pay in RMB (46%)
4. Staff who speak Chinese (39%)
5. Wi-Fi in-store (26%)

Travel, shopping and fashion websites (43%) and recommendations from friends and family (43%) are the main research points for international shopping. For many, social media also plays a key role, either through the brand’s own site (38%) or via inspiration from friends’ pages (36%).

Also read: 220 Million Chinese to Travel Overseas in 2025

The number of Chinese tourists traveling abroad increased 19.5% YoY to 120 million in 2015 and the number was 13 times higher than that of 1998 according to China National Tourism Administration. Data of Feng Li & Fung Group Research Center showed that consumption of Chinese tourists totaled US$229 billion in 2015.

The number of Chinese visitors to Singapore increased by 20% to 2.07 million person-trips in 2015 and the number is expected to increase to 2.35 million this year. The growth rate will slow down according to HSBC.

In contrast, Chinese tourists visiting Japan and Thailand are expected to increase by 46.2% and 41.7% respectively in 2016 which will maintain a strong growth rate in visitor arrivals.

Singapore was not a good desirable place for Chinese tourist doing shopping compared with Japan and Korea. According to a research covering 300,000 Chinese social media users by HSBC, the United States (46%) was the most desirable tourism locations for Chinese people, followed by Japan (26%) and Hong Kong (21%). Only 5% of respondents chose Singapore.

Chinese tourists were more likely to buy luxury products, cosmetics, clothing and watches in those countries according to 6Estates. And they preferred to buy local brands, such as Charles & Keith in Singapore, Uniqlo in Japan, Sasa in Hong Kong, and Coach in the US.

Also read: China Outbound Travelers Shopping Overview 2015

China had 109 million outbound tourists who spent a total amount of US$229 billion on shopping in 2015 according to GFK. China was the largest outbound country in the world.

GFK’s survey showed that more than half of Chinese travelers were between 15 and 29 years old, 37% between 30 and 44 years old, and about a tenth between 45 and 59 years old.

The top five most popular travel destinations of Chinese travelers have been South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan since the beginning of 2016. Europe was also a popular outbound destination of Chinese tourists. Chinese travelers visiting Thailand, South Korea and Japan in November 2015 grew by an increase of 263%, 112% and 157% respectively.

Thailand, South Korea and Hong Kong were the most favored destinations among the post-85s and post-90s in China in 2015. Since 2014, a large number of Chinese tourists began to pay more attention to the cultural landscape and historical heritage of tourism destinations instead of convenient transportation and low travel cost. Travel for shopping was a new trend among Chinese outbound travelers.

Two-thirds of China post-85s and post-90s were high-income groups according to GFK and they will be expected to spend more on travel in the future. Understanding likes and dislikes of China’s travelers especially the post-85s and post-90s were essential for attracting these travelers.

Also read: China Travel Insights for Chinese New Year 2016

The global duty-free market in 2015 is expected to reach US$59.8 billion, more than twice as much as it was 10 years ago according to BCG. The rise of low-cost carriers (LCC) has boosted overseas travel and increasing number of Chinese tourists has driven the rapid expansion of the Asian as well as the global market.

Over 100 million Chinese passengers traveled abroad last year and reached expenditure of US$165 billion, ranking first in the world and US$50 billion more than the United States according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

The total number of China’s tourists is estimated to exceed 4.1 billion person trips in 2015 and about 53.6% of Chinese outbound tourists take shopping as primary objectives of free and easy trips in 2015 according to research of Mafengwo and TouTiao.

King Power who is the largest duty-free groups in Thailand launched the duty-free shop project with Tmall this July. They plan to open sales outlets and call centers in China, hoping to attract more Chinese tourists in the future according to Japan Economic News. Over 90% of their customers are Chinese and a majority of their retailers can speak Chinese for better consumer experience.

Lotte (South Korea), EVERRICH (Taiwan), and King Power (Thailand) are the only three Asian duty-free shops among the world top 10.

Also read: China Retail V.S. Online Shopping 2015

Female consumers aged between 30 and 39 years old in metropolis cities such as Beijing and Shanghai are the driving force of China’s cross-border online shopping market this year according to a survey conducted by the Voice of China.

Consumers aged from 30 to 39 years old account for 50.7% of the total number of buyers and the group of female buyers account for 82.6% in metropolis cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

35% of China’s online shopping consumers bought cross-border products online in 2015; and, 73% considered the price as the main reason for cross-border shopping according to PayPal and Ipsos.

Retail sales via mobile devices in China are expected to increase by 85.1% annually to reach US$333.99 billion in 2015 according to eMarketer. Cross-border online shopping market on mobile end has exceeded PC this year. Peak shopping period is from 5pm to 6pm and 10pm to 11pm. Most shoppers purchase once or twice each month and spend between 500 yuan (US$78.23) and 1,000 yuan (US$156.46).

Pursuant to lower price, varieties of products, near in location and influenced by media and marketing, Chinese cross-border online shoppers are likely to buy cosmetics from South Korea, followed by mother care products, clothes, magazines as well as foods. However, the existing long delivery time may discourage consumers shopping desires.

Also read: China Annual Cross-border Consumption in 2015

China is the world’s largest outbound tourism market and consumption market. Basing on the report initiated by China and surveyed by the World Urban Tourism Federation (WTCF), a total of 109 million Chinese person-trips visited foreign countries in 2014, among which the ratio of women was higher than men by 17 percentage points. The post-80s favored overseas tourism most, accounting for nearly 45%.

China is the world’s largest outbound tourism market and consumption market. In 2014, the number of Chinese outbound tourists reached 109 million person-trips, a YoY increase of 11% accounting for 9.58% of the total international tourists. Total Chinese outbound tourism consumption reached US$165 billion, an increase of 28% accounting for 11% of the total international tourism revenues.

Women tourists accounted for 58.5% of all Chinese outbound tourists, higher than men. The largest age group was the post-80s whose ratio was as high as 44.89%; the post-70s ranked second, accounting for 25.72%; and followed by the post-90s (11.39%), post-60s (9.97%) and post-50s (8.04%).

The post-80s and post-70s became the main groups of Chinese outbound tourists, accounting for more than 70%, which is mainly due to their higher education background and the majority got married traveling with minor children and elder parents.

Over the past year, Chinese short-distance tourists were mainly the post-80s and post-90s, accounting for more than 60% of the total; most of them were single or married with no children or children under the age of 10; their average household monthly income was 18,233 yuan (US$2,858.82) and the individual average income is 9,531 yuan (US$1,495.22), lower than the overall level.

Their favorite short-distance tour destinations are all located in East Asia and Southeast Asia, including five cities in Japan, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe, and Nara; three cities in South Korea, Seoul, Jeju, Inchon; and followed by Bangkok and Singapore.

Improving visa policies, including lowering the threshold, simplifying procedures and shortening the processing time, are expected by most Chinese outbound tourists. And, shopping has beocme a routine for overseas tourists.

Also read: Tmall Will Launch the Global Duty-free Shop Project in China

China “exports” the most number of students studying overseas in the world according to a UNSCO’s report. China and India, which have the most people in the world, also have the most students studying overseas in 2012.

In 2012, Chinese overseas students reached 694,400, ranking the top in the world, followed by India and South Korea with 189,500 and 123,700 overseas students respectively.

Also read: China Tourists Travel Intention Study 2015

According to data from China Tourism Academy, total revenue generated from China inbound tourism market reached $51.646 billion with an increase of 3.27% year on year, ranking 4th in the world, following America, France and Spain in 2013.

In 2013, top 10 countries by foreign travelers were South Korea, Japan, Russia, America, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Singapore and Australia.

Also read: Chinese New Year Traveler Insights 2015

1688.com, the largest online B2B website under Alibaba Group and sourcing destinations of many Taobao sellers, is opening up to foreign suppliers with the addition of twenty four South Korean brands through Alibaba’s Direct From Overseas Markets program.

1688 started accepting suppliers from outside mainland China since August 2014 when some wholesalers from Taiwan were accepted into the online B2B platform.

The acceptance of Korean suppliers on 1688.com were supported by South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Rural Affairs. Some of the well known brands are Woongjin Foods, brewer HITE-Jinro, and Daesang Corp.

1688.com is a Chinese online B2B website while its sister website Alibaba.com is an English one for global sourcing. According to 1688, a mini-site will be set up for Korean products by the end of this year. And, the next country under Direct From Overseas Markets program is Southeast Asian countries.

China B2B e-commerce market revenue exceeded RMB4.53 billion (US$740 million), an increase of 6.1% from the prior quarter in the same year and by 57.29% from prior year period according to the latest data from Enfodesk.

Check out China online B2B market share in Q2 2014 here.

Also read: China B2B Market Overview in 2013