If you are new here, this is where we share the things we’ve heard recently on the Chinese travel trade grapevine, with a few thoughts of our own thrown in. It’s a snapshot for those with limited time. And this week, we are talking Trump.
1. What will be the impact on the travel industry of the US trade war with China?
In situations like this, Chinese travel agents will cease all promotions and advertisements for holidays to the politically charged destination. Tour operators to the USA will also keep a very low profile. This will not be a response to an explicit order from anyone, it will just be understood as the right course of action.
Tourists will still travel to the USA, but there will be fewer as there will be no marketing.
2. The international student market will be more heavily affected. Some US universities are not even accepting Chinese students, and concerns over ‘welcome’ and safety may come into play. However, the study tour and student holiday market is unlikely to be majorly affected.
How will this play out for other countries? Well, the other big international student destinations (UK, Australia, Canada) are likely to benefit, and, as we know, a strong education market is one key driver for tourism.
3. Moving on to Chinese New Year and what happened in the travel market: the stats are showing a very strong period of travel, and also an extended period. The holiday was longer this year, and many people left early to take advantage of cheaper prices. Value is an important driver in Chinese travel this year. That’s value for money, not necessarily cheap prices. We saw some late booking patterns to take advantage of deals, and a rise in the mid-range hotels with a decline for 5 star.
4. Talking of value for money, due to the depreciation of the yen, Japan was even more attractive than ever. Twice as many Chinese tourists visited compared to last year, making it the top overseas destination for the period.
5. Europe did well with France, the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Iceland, Hungary and Italy all recording increases of more than 30% y-o-y.
6. Look up! There is a growing interest in star gazing, with Chinese tourists booking trips to Norway, Canada, Iceland and Russia to enjoy dark sky tourism and to see the Northern Lights. Norway has entered the top 20 destinations for Chinese travellers for the first time.
7. Solo trips are up 8%, couples up 6%, and there’s a big decline in the large, organised group travel (down 50% for long haul journeys). All according to Forward Keys.
8. We also feel there’s something in the air around domestic tourism. Fewer reports and stats were issued this year about outbound travel, with far more media coverage about domestic trips and cultural hotspots within mainland China. Is the Chinese government keen to keep the vast tourism spend within China during this period? Possibly.
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