Chinese outbound travel bookings surge as holiday nears, injecting strong confidence, momentum into world tourism market

Passengers wait to go through entry procedures at Tianjin International Cruise Home Port in north China's Tianjin Municipality, March 23, 2024. As the largest cruise home port in North China's Tianjin International Cruise Home Port has handled more than 200,000 inbound and outbound passengers since its full resumption of international cruise ship transport on Sept. 27, 2023. Photo: Xinhua

As the Dragon Boat Festival and summer vacation period in China approach, bookings on various travel platforms have shown a continuous rise in the popularity of outbound travel, with some agencies seeing a 100 percent increase in bookings year-on-year.

With the positive catalyst of flight resumptions and visa-free policies, the outbound travel supply chain is gradually returning to normal, experts said, noting that it is a significant driving force and stabilizer for global tourism development, injecting strong confidence and development momentum into the world tourism market.

As of Monday, bookings for outbound trips during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday had increased by 100 percent year-on-year; outbound travel for the upcoming summer vacation has also entered a peak booking period, with inquiries up by 200 percent, and over 80 percent of group tour products have been booked, CYTS, a major Chinese travel agency, revealed on Tuesday.

As demand rises, Chinese tourists are diversifying their choice of outbound destinations. Data from Mafengwo, another online travel platform, show that Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Jeju Island in South Korea, which are short distances away and offer visa-free entry, are among the top destinations for Chinese travelers during the Dragon Boat Festival in 2024.

Chinese are opting for overseas destinations in these neighboring countries, as they are cheaper, more time efficient, and share similar cultures with China. What's more, these countries generally have friendly relations with China, creating a harmonious atmosphere for people-to-people exchanges," Zhang Lingyun, a member of the academic committee of the China Tourism Academy, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"The demand for outbound travel has been growing also with the improved living standards of Chinese people, facilitated by the convenience brought by visa exemptions," Zhang said. "What's more, the transparency of information on the internet has also made consumer choices more rational."

"The surge of Chinese tourists traveling abroad not only contributes to promoting mutual cultural exchange, but also spreading the excellence of Chinese culture, and enhancing China's image," Zhang noted.

According to official data, by May 2024, China had signed visa exemption agreements with 157 countries covering different types of passports, reached simplified visa procedures agreements with 44 countries, and achieved full visa exemptions with 23 countries, including Thailand, Singapore, Maldives, and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, over 60 countries and regions provide Chinese citizens with visa-free or visa-on-arrival options.

The number of visa applications processed by Trip, one of China's biggest online travel agencies, in the second quarter of this year has doubled compared to the same period in 2023, with a 20 percent increase from the same period in 2019, the company said in a statement on Monday.

Judging from the visa application volume, the outbound tourism market for this summer is expected to boom, Trip said.

To meet the surging demand for summer travel, various departments across the country have introduced policies such as visa simplification and payment optimization to facilitate the movement of people, trade, and tourism between China and other countries.

Experts said that visa simplification can save tourists time and money, therefore directly boosting their interest in outbound travel.

With the increase in international tourists, the operation volume of airline routes has also been enhanced, driving the growth of ticket sales, airline services, airport duty-free shopping, and other related businesses. At the same time, the increase in the number of tourists is also pushing destinations to strengthen infrastructure construction and improve service quality, promoting the optimization and upgrading of the tourism industry chain.

Thanks to the gradual resumption of international flights and an increase in tourism service providers, the prices for this year's outbound travel products have seen a significant drop as a result of price competition.

A Beijing resident surnamed Zhao told the Global Times on Wednesday that she and her friends have decided to "do nothing but lie on the beach" in Malaysia for this Dragon Boat Festival holiday.

Zhao has chosen Malaysia as her destination because the round-trip airfare just seemed too attractive.

"It's only about 2,000 yuan ($276), even cheaper than going back to my hometown [in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian Province]. Additionally, everyone wants to enjoy the seaside for their summer vacation, and Southeast Asia is close, affordable, and convenient. It is undoubtedly the best choice."

Zhao said they chose the local Shangri-La Hotel to stay in, where the average cost per person is about 500-600 yuan per night, a price rate that is quite impossible to find domestically.

The ways of outbound travel are also seeing big changes. For one thing, cross-border cruises have become a popular option, especially for young people who want a one-stop all-inclusive "lying flat" style of travel and do not want to choose traditional group tours.

Such luxurious cruise trips allow travelers to visit a different city or country every day, taste local specialties, experience an authentic culinary journey, and even experience a different life at sea.

Data from Fliggy also showed the popularity of cross-border cruises, with international cruise bookings on the platform increasing more than 12 times compared to 2023's Dragon Boat Festival, the company told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The diversity of activities and the depth of experiences have become important factors attracting consumers. For example, activities such as deep-sea snorkeling in Semporna, Malaysia, enjoying Wagyu beef in Japan, and river rafting in Bali, Indonesia, are highly sought after during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, Fliggy said.