Chinese travellers are increasingly seeking slower, more restorative experiences when they go abroad. Wellness used to be seen as more of an ‘add-on’ experience for holidays, such as a massage at the end of a packed itinerary, but nowadays it’s becoming more and more of a key motivator for travel. Chinese outbound travellers are increasingly booking trips centred around spas, thermal springs, yoga and meditation retreats, nature resorts and sleep, detox and stress-reduction programs. In this way, travel can be used as a reset button from everyday life, providing the chance for travellers to rebalance physically and mentally while away.
Who’s travelling?
China’s aging population, known as the ‘silver-hair’ travellers, are driving the wellness travel trend. This demographic primarily seeks health-focused getaways with an added value on cultural enrichment, making activities that blend the two, such as meditation retreats, thermal spa destinations and nature-based resorts, particularly appealing. When planning their trips, many older outbound travellers will prioritise comfort and slower-paced itineraries, often seeking out multi-generational friendly experiences so that their family can come along too. For the health-conscious silver traveller, accessible facilities and readily available medical assistance are extremely valuable and sure to increase bookings.
Younger Chinese travellers are another core group seeking wellness destinations and attractions when they travel. They tend to prioritise experiences over material purchases and are heavily influenced by social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu (RedNote) and Douyin. Online presence is of high importance to brands as ‘wellness travel’ is increasingly trending across platforms, where resorts/ retreats and wellness activities can be easily discovered by millennial and Gen Z Chinese travellers. Social media provides a spotlight where you can highlight the mental and physical benefits of your experience to travellers who are using online information to planning their own wellness itinerary. However, credibility matters. For example, advertising available services like Mandarin translation will help to build the trust of travellers and reduce uncertainty in booking.
Why is the wellness trend becoming so popular?
Since the pandemic, increasingly large numbers 0f Chinese travellers have turned their planning focus towards wellness tourism, seeking relaxation-based holidays instead of busy sightseeing. Travellers want time to disconnect from the digital overload of day to day life, with an emphasis on mental clarity as well as physical health. Working weeks are very busy and fast-paced in China’s cities and popular local tourist spots especially in Tier One cities, are often overcrowded, so many travellers seek a slow-paced getaway that will rejuvenate their overall state.
Rising health awareness among the Chinese population has also put up the demand for health-based getaways in line with the Healthy China 2030 initiative, which was proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2016 and marked health as ‘an explicit national political priority’. The resulting promotion of physical and mental health to Chinese nationals across the years has certainly contributed to the growth of the wellness market as more and more travellers take action to prioritise their own wellbeing, reflected in their destination, accommodation and, most of all, their activity choices when abroad.
Where do Chinese wellness travellers like to go?
Destinations known for natural beauty and relaxation are gaining popularity in the wellness travel market, such as Southeast Asia and Europe. Thailand is especially popular among Chinese travellers for its beautiful scenery and traditions, as well as award-winning wellness resorts like Kamalaya, which was co-founded by a Chinese doctor specialising in traditional medicine. The resort offers a wide range of wellness programs all of which are attractive to the luxury traveller, including fitness, detox and longevity based activities and treatments.
A growing trend for younger, affluent Chinese travellers is yoga retreats, which tend to blend wellness, meditation and culture and are popular on island destinations such as Bali. More generally, island are highly valued by the wellness traveller for their natural beauty, serving as an escape from everyday city scenery- discover more insights on the importance of islands to Chinese Outbound travellers here.
The rise of ‘Bleisure’ travel
Trips focused on business are also becoming more important this year, according to the new ITB China Travel Trends Report. Chinese business travellers are increasingly looking to maximise their time away beyond just work commitments by extending their stays to create meaningful trips. The importance of leisure time surrounding meetings and conferences to many travellers has led to the growth of China’s ‘bleisure’ market in 2026, which is expected to generate a revenue of USD 137,782.8 million by 2030, according to this report by GrandView Horizon.
The previously mentioned ‘younger Chinese travellers’ group, particularly those born in the early 1980s/90s, or ‘millennials’, are one of the largest segments making up the Chinese outbound travel demographic as a whole and are also significant drivers of the ‘bleisure’ travel trend, seek more flexibility and customisation when they travel. Those with children may partake in the ‘workcation’, in which business-led travel is extended to create a holiday for the family, an increasingly welcomed trend for Chinese audiences which may also impact the way that companies plan work trips. In response to this demand, business venues and destinations should ensure that they are offering leisure and wellness products that not only accommodate for the business traveller, but also their families, including multigenerational travel.
Guanxi has experience working with wellness-based destinations and attractions, such as islands and resorts. For help with your brand, contact us here.