Happy Chinese New Year - The Year of the Rooster!
This is the holiday during which the Chinese global tourism market shows it's true dominant character as the biggest source of overseas travelers in the world: 128 million people spending $292 billion annually on their trips, according to the World Tourism Organization. From East Asia, to Southeast Asia, to Australasia, to Russia, to Europe, to North America, to Africa, to South America - and even to far-flung destinations (e.g. Antarctica / Iceland) - Chinese tourists are now taking the world by storm during the 2-3 week period starting January 28 this year, the onset of the Chinese New Year.
Per CTrip, a major Chinese provider of travel services including accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tours and corporate travel management, 6 million Chinese will be traveling outside of China this new year holiday, accounting for 100 billion RMB in spending, or USD $14.5 billion.
But first - a brief digression to provide an essential Chinese language (Mandarin) lesson for businesses and brands - both big and small - which will be engaging with Chinese travelers around the world during this season:
- "Happy Chinese New Year!" (祝您春节快乐！"Zhu Nin Chun Jie Kuai Le !")
- "Welcome!" (欢迎！"Huan Ying!")
- "Thank You!" （谢谢！"Shyeh Shyeh!"）
- "Please Come Again!" (欢迎您再来！"Huanying Nin Zai Lai!")
No major region of the world will not feel the impact of Chinese travelers during this critical holiday period, as evidenced by only a very small sampling of recent headlines which further underscore the global primacy of the Chinese travel market:
- Chinese will travel to 174 destinations outside mainland China for an average of 9.2 days during the Chinese New Year holiday period, according to online travel service Ctrip.com International Ltd..
- Chinese traveler flight bookings for Chinese New Year (first week of February) up 68.5% as of December 30, 2016 vs. previous year.
- During Lunar New Year, travelers from Asia/China drive Vancouver's travel trends.
- Chinese tourists to spend 11 million pounds in UK during Chinese New Year.
- Chinese tourists seek "lung cleansing" trips to Antarctica and Iceland to escape Chinese smog.
- Chinese tourists spent $13 billion in Japan in 2016 - the biggest spenders of all international tourists.
- Last year, Chinese tourists spent $74 million per day in the USA, or a total of $26.9 billion in the country during the year.
- LA is now the #1 US destination for Chinese global tourists.
- 950,000 Chinese visited New York City in 2016, a seven-fold increase since 2007.
- 900,000 Chinese tourists visited Cambodia in 2016, a 20% increase over 2015.
- Chinese tourists lead "shopping boom" in Italy.
- Chinese tourist visa applications for the Philippines triple.
- Over 270,000 Chinese tourists visited Sri Lanka in 2016.
- The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York saw a 49% increase in Chinese tourist visitors in 2016.
- Chinese tourism to Israel in 2016 leads growth for all countries: +69% over previous year.
- China's Global Times selects Morocco as "Best Potential Destination" for Chinese tourists.
- Chinese tourism to Australia now worth $9.1 billion annually.
- Between 2010 and 2015, the Chinese cruise market grew from $5.1 billion to $8.2 billion.
The ongoing "boom" in Chinese global tourism is not merely due to the exponentially growing volume of Chinese tourists, but also due to the shifting, or maturing character of how Chinese tourists decide to travel internationally. During the last 5-10 years of China's "rise," Chinese tourism has been largely characterized by group travel - as first-time Chinese international travelers sought to participate in organized trips that gave them their first "taste" of international experiences, while leaving travel logistics and cultural/linguistic barriers to the arrangements and management of tour operators. However, as the Chinese travel market becomes more sophisticated - in particular, due to repeat international travel, and corresponding Chinese tourist demand for new types of traveler-experiences that transcend “basic” or “typical” tourist destinations and sights - there will be a much-anticipated shift from group travel to individual, "FIT" ("free independent traveler") journeys. Indeed, this transition is already underway.
As such, customized Chinese vacations are now on the rise, representing a "booming" opportunity for destinations, businesses, and brands around the world. With Chinese tourism entering this new stage, travelers will seek much deeper levels of "authenticity" and “self-discovery” - e.g. experiencing destinations as the "locals" do, and engaging in activities and learning opportunities that will enrich their "world view."
This trend has already started to spur a whole host of new, Chinese-dedicated travel offerings that comprise the vanguard of an emerging industry catering to the rapidly evolving needs of this lucrative, global tourist segment.