With its vast outbound tourism market, and growing, China is redefining global tourism patterns.
Xu Jing, the UN World Tourism Organisation’s Asia-Pacific director, told China Daily that the country is now “dictating the international tourism map”.
Trends in Chinese outbound travel are being shaped by the 98 million Chinese who headed overseas this year, an increase of nearly 18% compared with last year.
This will concern destinations in Southeast Asia which have seen tourism arrivals from China fall compared to last year. Tourism authorities in Thailand and Singapore have called this a temporary lull, due to new regulations on outbound movements of Chinese nationals, while political unrest has also deterred visitations.
While the ranks of China’s middle class continue to swell, the pool of first-time travellers will continue to drive arrivals figures in Southeast Asia. However, more seasoned travellers are now looking further afield to East Asia, Europe, and the US.
Meanwhile, travellers in the top income bracket are now setting their sights on exotic locations in Latin America, Africa, Arctic and Antarctic, and even outer space.
“When asked about [super rich travellers’s] ‘must-achieve’ travel plans for the next three years, Bolivia took 36% of the vote and topped the list, followed by polar trips with 34%, while Africa ranked third and Mexico and Cuba tied for fifth place,” according to Hurun’s The Chinese Luxury Traveller (2014) report.
Wealthy Chinese are also looking to the stars, and 10% of the customers for XCOR Aeronautics’ space flights are Chinese. The company is one of two offering viable flights within the next three years. Meanwhile, US arms laws ban Chinese from Virgin Galactic flights.
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