10 things we have been hearing about the return of the Chinese travel market
#chinesetravelwhispers

1.     Museums in London tell us they are now starting to see Chinese visitors returning. This is great to hear.  

2.     The international flight rebuild is focused on short haul destinations where there is the most demand right now, but more attention will turn to the long haul routes like the UK in due course.

3.     Where will they stay? Hearing a lot about a lack of hotel availability especially in London. The capital is very busy this summer, especially with American visitors redeeming travel vouchers from cancelled bookings during the pandemic. But that peak will drop as vouchers are used. The hotels will need the Chinese market to make up the inbound visitor numbers, particularly for 2024.

4.     Trend data has suggested for a while that people will to be seeking out experience-led travel. It was great to hear this week that the theory is starting to translate into reality. One specialist told us they are seeing strong demand re-emerging from Chinese groups, particularly for more unusual, active experiences.

5.     Global Blue has released data to say that 92% of Chinese high spenders are interested in making a trip internationally this year. Europe is high on the agenda, but it is Paris, not London, that they are heading for (I wonder why Jeremy Hunt?). 90% are planning to shop as much or more than before the pandemic. 

6.     Airbus is doubling its aircraft manufacturing capacity to China. China has ordered 160 aircraft, in preparation for a growth in traffic of 5.3% annually over the next 20 years, way above the global average.

7.     Despite some challenges to the economy, in particular a slump in the housing market, there is still plenty of money in China. China has a new middle class of over 160 million people. This segment should be the focus for destination marketers in more aspirational and expensive countries such as the UK and the rest of Europe.

8.     Destinations popular with Chinese tourists are recording large year on year hotel price increases, showing the strong recovery of the market. Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Thailand prices are all up 40%+ for March 2023 as confidence returns. 

9.     The recovery of international travel from China to the UK remains slow and steady and, as predicted, Q1 was hampered by high flight prices and limited routes. Flight prices and schedules are improving all the time and a strong bounce back is expected in the summer, but we do not expect to get back to 2019 numbers until 2024.

10.  Visas for travel to the UK is not perhaps as bad as feared. Forms are filled in online, you present yourself at the visa office and it’s taking a couple of weeks to get your passport back. You do still need to book in advance, but thankfully, it seems it’s not India 2022 all over again 😀