At World Travel Market London this month, 50 professionals shaping the future of China-UK Travel attended the annual Chinese Tourism Leaders’ Dinner, hosted by Guanxi. Read more about the market insights that were shared at the event.

The event featured a series of trend updates and market intelligence designed to prepare the industry for the year ahead. Helena Beard and Vivienne Song of Guanxi opened the evening with a look at the latest shifts in Chinese consumer behaviour and travel patterns, setting the tone for a data-driven and optimistic discussion. Outlined was the evolving shape of Chinese travel, with the younger generation driving spending, as well as the growth in appeal of immersive ‘off-the-beaten-track’ experiences.

We were also delighted to welcome Laura Capraro from VisitBritain, who shared a positive and encouraging update for the UK tourism market in 2026. Her update highlighted renewed demand, expanding opportunities, and the strengthening appeal of Britain for Chinese travellers: latest figures from VisitBritain show that the UK welcomed 463,000 visits from mainland China in 2024, with a total expenditure of £724 million. This figure shows that visits are up by 26% compared to 2023, progressing at a faster pace than visitor spend. China also remains the UK’s 12th biggest market for value from 2023: VisitBritain predicts that it will return as our tenth most valuable in 2025, and a record 1.1 million is expected to visit Britain making it the fifth most valuable by 2030.

Further insight from VisitBritain reveals that Chinese visitors are staying twice as long as the market average and spending twice as much, with holiday visits making up 41% of the share in 2024. Chinese premium travellers are showing a greater interest in all activities in the UK, especially coastal locations and scenery. A significantly higher interest has been recorded in experiences such as fine dining, pubs, bars and clubs. Scheduled seat capacity on non-stop flights from China to the UK has exceeded pre-pandemic levels and 13 Chinese airports now connect directly to the UK to reflect this growing demand.

Adding to the momentum, Richard Owens from London Gatwick announced a huge increase in direct flights between Gatwick and four Chinese cities, a major development for connectivity between China and the UK. London Gatwick currently manages over 260,000 flights a year, with 2,500 being to and from China, and is now operating up to 500 more flights to Shanghai per year than Heathrow. Notably, the top 3 Chinese carriers all operate flights to London Gatwick.

We also heard from professionals in the Chinese travel trade, who reported insights on emerging demands in the consumer market. It was shared that the top three factors currently influencing client’s choice of holiday destinations are safety, direct flights and a social media presence. The South East of England was highlighted as a growing travel trend, as well as a higher demand for guided city walks.

Many thanks to our sponsors London Gatwick, Bustronome, Trip.com, Castle Howard, Tootbus and Brighton & Hove Museums.

This year’s Chinese Tourism Leaders’ Dinner was the biggest yet: if you are interested in sponsoring next year’s event, contact Guanxi here.