Chinese tourists pick cheaper destinations, fueling local spending

According to the survey, the top reason for preferring one’s home country is “the wide range of domestic travel options,” followed by “international travel being too expensive.”

According to Oliver Wyman, the average cost per person for a trip within mainland China is less than 1,000 yuan, while a trip to Hong Kong or Japan can cost several thousand yuan.

Rural tourism has been a bright spot in China’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, which ended in the second half of 2022. Travel booking site Trip.com has predicted that bookings to China’s rural destinations will grow by 1.2% in 2023. 2.6-fold increase Compared to pre-pandemic levels.

During the holiday period from May 1 to May 5 this year, domestic tourism and income A sharp increase compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019Official data showed international travel was slightly below 2019 levels. A CNBC analysis found: Official statistics.

In mainland China, smaller cities such as Yangzhou, Luoyang, Qinhuangdao, Guilin and Zibo saw the fastest growth in tourism bookings over the May holidays, according to Oliver Wyman.

“Domestic tourism will surpass pre-pandemic levels this year,” said Ashley Dudarenok, founder of Chinese digital consultancy Chosun.

She expects Chinese international travel to take time to recover, in part because “the sense that the rest of the world is crazy and dangerous is even greater than it was in 2023.”

In contrast, in the past two years, record numbers of people in the United States have applied for passports to travel abroad. Skyscanner Report 85% of American travelers said they plan to take at least as many international trips this year as they did in 2023, if not more.

U.S. and Chinese officials The summit was held Last week in Xi’an Promoting tourism Between the two countries.

It remains to be seen how long China’s tourist interest in developing regions will last, and whether it will translate into sustainable growth, but the short-term impact on some regions is significant.

In the southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, The famous limestone hills of GuilinThe government has announced plans to stimulate spending this year through increased advertising and tourism subsidies.

The region’s tourism revenue reached 258.18 billion yuan in the first quarter, up about 24 percent from the same period last year, according to officials. Local authorities said local government subsidies for the performing arts had generated 48.3 million yuan in ticket sales to 230,000 spectators, stimulating economic activity of about 460 million yuan.

The Nanjing City Wall tourist site, about a two-and-a-half-hour flight east of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, attracted nearly 1.3 million tourists in the first quarter, generating revenue of 19.2 million yuan, double the figure in 2019. Local Media.

Local governments outside China’s biggest cities are stepping up efforts to attract tourists, primarily through social media.

Authorities in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region said earlier this month that promotional videos on ByteDance’s apps such as “Douyin” and “Xiaohongshu,” known in English as “Little Red Book” or “Red,” had attracted millions of viewers.

“They’re trying to go viral, get the local community involved, get the cultural heritage involved, and put everything online,” Dudarenok said. “The minute it goes viral, thousands of tourists are going to come to you.”

In Zibo city in eastern China’s Shandong province, people flocked to the city last year after its skewer-roasting culture became popular on social media, while in Harbin, ice sculptures and other northern customs became popular on social media, drawing 3 million tourists to the city over a three-day New Year’s Eve holiday.

Television programs featuring specific regions also help promote tourism.

Thanks to a TV drama set in Altai, the remote region of the far western province of Xinjiang Visitor numbers increased by approximately 38% According to iQiyi, which released the miniseries, it began a year ago, during the first three days of this year’s May holiday.

“Television shows are a big draw,” Dudarenouk said, adding that “food is the main reason Chinese tourists travel.”

China’s extensive network of high-speed rail and air routes makes it easy to visit smaller towns, even if only for a few days.

Trip.com said last week that domestic flight bookings in the first quarter rose 30 percent year-on-year, noting that Chinese consumers now place more importance on “emotional fulfillment” and are increasingly interested in personalized travel.

“Our strengthened marketing efforts in many provinces have helped encourage travelers to explore more diverse destinations,” Trip.com executives said on an earnings conference call, according to a FactSet transcript.

Companies and local governments are working together in other ways to boost attention, if not revenue.

Officials from tourist destinations and local governments have been in touch to promote the Miss Tourism Asia pageant, said Yang Hua, chairman of the pageant’s organising committee.

“Currently, China’s domestic tourism industry is relatively fragmented,” Yang said in Chinese, as translated by CNBC. Over the next few years, he wants to organize destination-specific events in each city that can attract tourists.

Miss Tourism Asia shot contestants’ fashion promotional videos in the desert around the city of Aral in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region last year and will hold the final in Dongguan, a city in southern Guangzhou province, on Jan. 1, 2024.

Oliver Wyman said that with Chinese consumers now preferring domestic travel, international travel is unlikely to fully recover to 2019 levels until the second half of 2025, six months later than previously predicted.

In the longer term, Dudarenouk predicts that international destinations will also need to upgrade their experiences to match the rise of stylish, modern hotels and other travel services in China.

“Chinese tourists [are] It’s not that easy to be satisfied,” she said.

—CNBC’s Greg Iacurci and Yulia Jiang contributed to this report.