Chinese Tourism in 2024: The View from WTM

Dragon Trail’s Sienna Parulis-Cook joined other expert speakers for a panel on the changing Chinese outbound tourism market as part of WTM’s 2024 conference program

Is it time to stop comparing the Chinese outbound tourism market to pre-pandemic figures? This was one of the questions raised last week at World Travel Market (WTM) London’s conference session on the Chinese market, organized by China Daily.

While comparison is unavoidable, what’s clear from our conversations with international tourism professionals at WTM, is that there are very few places where Chinese tourism looks the same now as it did in 2019. Understanding what these changes are and having the agility to adapt to them will create new opportunities not just for recovery, but for growth in a new environment.

What’s the same?

One thing that remains consistent despite the upheaval of COVID, is the size and importance of the Chinese outbound travel market. Despite being essentially frozen for nearly three years, China is once again driving the growth of the entire industry, including both spending and room nights, according to Tourism Economics’ Dave Goodger.

Many in the industry are well aware of this continued importance, as evidenced by the strong turnout for the special 75-minute China conference session even in the afternoon of the final day of the exhibition.

Some destinations are experiencing a return to a Chinese market that feels very familiar – this seems most pronounced in places where Chinese tourism was just starting to take off from around 2016/2017 onwards. The Chinese market in Dubai is “back to almost normal” says Emaar Hospitality’s Ahmed Hashem, with strong interest from Chinese investors traveling to the region, and from those seeking out luxury hotel experiences. Another hotspot for Chinese travel in the years just before the pandemic, the Balkans are once again seeing plenty of older Chinese groups and younger FITs, says Đorđe Vranic, Assistant Director for Tourism for Serbia’s city of Novi Sad.

Recovery and growth around the world

Just before WTM kicked off this year, the Turkish tourism board revealed that China is one of its fastest-growing inbound markets, with Chinese arrivals up by 84% year on year in the first nine months of 2024. Istanbul hotels we spoke to at the exhibition had certainly felt this, especially in the past few months, all describing the Chinese market as “strong”.

The Crowne Plaza Istanbul Florya is more engaged than ever with the “strong” Chinese market in Turkiye, including both business groups and leisure travelers

Visit Buenos Aires’ Fernando Amer says he’s “really optimistic about the potential” for the Chinese market, even though visitation numbers are so far only around 10% of where they were in 2019. Huge buyer interest at ITB China last year, as well as a new China-Mexico flight, are some of the factors influencing his outlook. At present, access to Antarctica is the major draw for Chinese visitors to Buenos Aires, he says.

In the UK, flight capacity has fully recovered – and indeed exceeded – pre-pandemic levels, and visitation is coming back strong as well. In the Lake District, Windermere Lake Cruises – which have long focused on the China market – have already recovered to 80% of pre-pandemic Chinese visitor numbers. Similarly, the LNER high-speed train that runs between Edinburgh and London also says their Chinese passenger numbers have recovered to 78%.

Chinese tourism recovery in the UK is being driven by the large student and VFR markets

While Visit West’s Managing Director Kathryn Davis says that this summer saw the return of “traditional Chinese tourists” to Bath, currently Chinese tourism throughout the UK is largely being driven by the student and VFR markets. More than 150k Chinese study at UK universities, accounting for around one quarter of all non-EU international students. The strength of the Chinese student market means that British destinations are seeing more FITS, and visitors who are totally comfortable communicating in English. While Windermere Lake Cruises used to receive occasional complaints about not having a Chinese audio guide, says Sales and Marketing Director Jennifer Cormack, this hasn’t been mentioned by visitors in the past several years.

In continental Europe, there’s been a significant shift in the Chinese tourism market. Austria Tourism’s Emanuel Lehner-Telič says it’s better to think of the post-pandemic Chinese tourism market as “starting from scratch” rather than comparing the numbers to 2019. So far in 2024, those numbers have only reached half of pre-pandemic levels, but Lehner-Telič says he’s very happy. The tour groups have yet to return, but Austria is now welcoming Chinese FITs who are spending more, staying at higher-end hotels, and staying 25% longer.

In Paris, it’s a similar story. Audrey Guilleminot from Choose Paris Region says that there are fewer Chinese groups now – and that she believes visa issues are impacting this. But now she sees lots of FITs with bigger budgets than before, and hotels in the area are also reporting this shift.

What’s new in marketing?

“Xiaohongshu, Xiaohongshu, Xiaohongshu,” is what people are discussing now in terms of Chinese marketing, shared Asia tourism expert Gary Bowerman during the panel session on China. He’s right – many tourism boards and attractions are now opening accounts and working with influencers on the platform, which has taken off as a source of information and inspiration for Chinese travelers. But don’t think of Xiaohongshu – aka Little Red Book, or RED – as “China’s Instagram”, as it is often described. The platforms have different algorithms, different content, and serve different functions for audiences. It’s not just time to stop comparing 2024 to 2019 – even more importantly, let go of trying to compare Chinese social media platforms to Western ones.

WTM London 2024 attracted more than 50,000 attendees from 180 countries and regions

For the travel industry, face-to-face meetings are essential – as evidenced by the +50,000 attendees at WTM London this year. Exhibitors with an interest in the Chinese market generally all planned China trips in the coming year – particularly for ITB China and adjacent events, as well as roadshows – and many have already been to China at least once in the past year. Perhaps setting the record is the Saudi Tourism Authority’s President of APAC Marketing Alhasan Aldabbagh, who has traveled to China 10 times in the past year.

Where is the future potential?

So far, we see that even with an economic slowdown at home, Chinese consumers are prioritizing outbound travel, and spending significantly when they go abroad. So there is a real case for optimism and making the most from this potential and the individual advantages of your destination – be that study abroad or access to Antarctica.

But there is also a lot of untapped potential. Despite flights from China to Italy being 140% of pre-pandemic levels as of October 2024, and six new flight routes launched between China and Milan’s Malpensa Airport in the past year, none of the Italian DMOs we spoke to have ever seen significant Chinese visitation before or since the pandemic – including those located in close proximity to Milan. There is clearly a lot of potential for better dispersal, new products, and the discovery of wonderful new destinations for Chinese travelers.

Whether you’re just entering the market or want to update your strategy for 2024 and beyond, Dragon Trail can support you with marketing solutions to reach Chinese consumers and the Chinese travel trade, including social media, events, representation, and online resources for the travel trade. Please get in touch to learn more.