China becomes world’s biggest tourism spender
China has become the world largest single source market for international tourism revenues.
According to the latest data from the UNWTO, Chinese nationals spent a record US$102 billion on overseas travel 2012, taking it to the top of the international standings and making it the first country ever to achieved 12-digit spending in US dollar terms.
The result marks the culmination of a sharp rise in Chinese outbound travel over the past decade. In 2005 China ranked seventh in terms of international tourism expenditure, but quickly overtook Italy and then Japan, to become Asia’s biggest outbound market. It then surpassed France and the UK, and with the 2012 surge, China leaped into first place ahead of top revenue generator Germany and second biggest spender , the USA (both approximately US$84bn).
The volume of international trips by Chinese travellers has surged from just 10 million in 2000 to 83m in 2012, and expenditure by Chinese tourists abroad has grown in tandem. Boosted by an appreciating Chinese currency, tourism revenues generated by Chinese travellers surged 40% last year from US$73bn in 2011 to the 2012 figure of US$102bn.
“Over the past decade China has been, and still is, by far the fastest-growing tourism source market in the world, thanks to rapid urbanisation, rising disposable incomes and relaxation of restrictions on foreign travel,” the UNWTO remarked.
China wasn’t the only emerging ‘BRIC’ nation to see strong growth in 2012. Overseas tourism spending by Russians increase 32% in 2012 to US$43bn, taking it to fifth place in the global rankings, while Brazil moved up to 12th place with expenditure of US$22bn.
“Emerging economies continue to lead growth in tourism demand” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. “The impressive growth of tourism expenditure from China and Russia reflects the entry into the tourism market of a growing middle class from these countries, which will surely continue to change the map of world tourism,” he added.
But while the highest growth rates came from emerging economies, traditional source markets also posted positive results in 2012. Spending on overseas travel from Germany and the USA grew by 6% each, while the UK’s outbound spending increased 4%, keeping it fourth in the world rankings. Expenditure by Canadians grew 7%, while Australia and Japan both increased 3%. France (-6%) and Italy (-1%) were the only markets in the top 10 to record a decline in international tourism spending.