Overseas travel from China will receive a long-awaited shock as the booking situation for Golden Week shows changes in where and why Chinese people travel.
China’s leading travel booking platform Fliggy said Chinese travelers are increasing their bookings for international travel during the National Day holiday, which runs from October 1 to 7, as airfares drop.
Data from Fliggy, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group, shows travelers are heading to many of the usual destinations in the Asia-Pacific region: Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea, as well as Australia, Southeast Asia’s Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. I understand that. The United States is also included in the list.
However, in most cases, the fastest growing numbers of bookings are for travel outside the region, such as Chile, Croatia, Belgium, Hungary, Czech Republic, Finland, Norway, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, and Sri Lanka. This is shown by the company’s data. .
A report released on September 23 by Goldman Sachs Equity Research estimates that China’s domestic travel volume will increase by a “staggering 5-6%” compared to last year’s holiday period. However, “outbound travel growth is likely to remain strong, +62% year-on-year,” or about 94% of 2019 levels, the report said.
Long-term travel, early reservations
Trip.comChina’s largest online travel agency also shows a “significant shift” towards long-haul destinations for the upcoming Golden Week, with Australia, the US, New Zealand, the UK, France and Spain leading the list of long-haul destinations. occupies . reservation.
According to the company, the average booking for this year’s Golden Week is over seven days, but travelers heading to Europe are staying up to twice as long.
Although most Golden Week travelers are opting for mid-range accommodation, the growth rate for five-star hotels in Europe is almost three times faster than in Asia-Pacific, the company’s data showed.
According to Trip.com, bookings for long-distance trips are flooding in this upcoming Golden Week, with popular destinations including the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
Oscar Wong | Moments | Getty Images
According to Trip.com, nearly one in three travelers to Europe book multi-destination itineraries, while 80% of Golden Week bookings within Asia Pacific are single-destination. It’s a trip.
ASEAN countries are discussing the creation of a Schengen-like visa to encourage travelers to visit multiple countries while in the region. However, so far, visas applicable to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam have not been issued.
Another sign of recovery? Travelers are planning their trips further in advance, a sign of growing confidence in their travels. According to Trip.com, travelers on average submit their visa applications 68 days before their trip, about 29 days earlier than last year.
In search of a quiet concert
Data from Trip.com shows that an increasing number of Chinese tourists are looking beyond organized overseas sightseeing tours to celebrate Golden Week in off-the-beaten-path locations, especially in Asia and Europe.
Bookings to Japan saw a triple-digit increase during the Golden Week period, the company said, with travelers bypassing Tokyo and Kyoto and visiting places such as Yokohama, Takayama and Ito. Ta. The data also showed that interest in visiting Vietnam’s Phu Quoc island is increasing.
In Europe, bookings in Spain increased by 260% in the city of Granada and 144% in Seville, according to Trip.com.
According to a report by Fliggy, more travelers booked rental cars and cruises during Golden Week, while interest in outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing and sailing also surged.
As in other parts of the world, live entertainment is a big driver for Chinese travelers.
According to Trip.com, more than 75% of Golden Week travelers in Asia Pacific are millennials, who book trips to Hong Kong to see K-pop artists like John Legend and Taemin and Taeyang.
Hong Kong is expected to welcome as many as 1.2 million mainland Chinese tourists during the upcoming Golden Week holiday, up 10% from last year, according to the city’s Travel Industry Council.
Expecting resilience in spending
Despite the continued turmoil in China’s economy, tourist spending is up nearly 6% compared to last year’s Golden Week, Friggy said.
HSBC Global Research said in a report on China’s online travel companies that it is “bullish on Golden Week as we expect a significant increase in tourist numbers due to lower flight and hotel prices.”
Citing Beijing-based online travel agency Qunar, the report noted that Chinese people living in smaller cities are now also choosing to travel abroad.
According to Qunar, outbound travel is increasing in lower tier cities, with bookings from tier 3 and lower cities “up 2.5 times year over year, and bookings from tier 2 cities up 76%”.