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China, Asia's largest country, swings between the stunning modern vibes of Beijing and Shanghai and the centuries old culture and traditions of Tibet . Take a walk on the Great Wall of China , have a river cruise on Yangtze river with one of our adventures or visit Yunnan and fall in love with this country.

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China Express

I loved the tour - it's a very quick trip through China's main tourist attractions and there really isn't time for rest but that was perfect given the limited time I had. There was a problem with one member of the group who didn't speak English and had fairly severe medical issues - which would have been fine if it didn't impact the rest of the group - but they did, and I don't believe he should ever have been let on the trip. G Adventures should at least be asking people if they have a decent grasp of English and are medically fit for the trip. Otherwise it was great - had a brilliant time, and if you want to see China in a limited amount of time then this is a great way to do it.

8-Day Small Group China Tour to Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai

The tour was excellent in every way. The guides were extremely good and were able to change direction as required. Their english was extremely good.

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The Essence of Guilin

Great experience from the first day to the last day. Tour guide George and driver Wang assisted in picking up and dropping off and was punctual throughout. Bravo hotel in Guilin and New Century hotel in Yangshuo was great located with many choices of buffet breakfasts, very nice room and comfortable bed. Sailing through the 2 rivers and 4 lakes in the downtown of Guilin was brilliant. Longji rice terraces hike was such beautiful picture scroll with stunning views at the top and Li river cruise were majestic, cycling through the scenic town and country side of Yangshuo was absolutely exciting. Overall a fantastic experience that I would recommend to everyone.

11-Day Small Group China Tour to Beijing, Xi'an, Guilin and Shanghai

All the guides were very nice. To call this a no shopping tour is misleading. Several times we were put in shopping situations that were not mentioned in the description or were sprung on us in transit.

11 Days China Natural Wonders Small Group

Would recommend to anyone looking to travel to China. TCT looked after us very well, collected from airports and stations without issues, helped us check in etc. The guides were excellent, and very helpful. The itinerary was well put together, fitted a lot in without being exhausting. Just a couple of hotels could have been better, would recommend to the company to use a different hotel in Beijing and Zgangjijie.

China Delights Small Group Tour

This is a great tour that packs a lot in. Time flies as you see so much although you won't spend long at many of the sites. My favourite bits of the itinerary were: - The Great Wall at Mutianyu (Beijing) we took the chair lift option which meant we could ride the toboggan back down. - Terracotta Warriors (Xian) half day - Li River Cruise (Guilin) - Huangpu River Cruise (Shanghai) which luckily turned into an evening cruise as we couldn't get on the earlier one. Those are the highlights but there are so many other things such as the Tang Dynasty Dancing and Dumpling Dinner and Summer Palace in Beijng and Reed Flute Caves in Guilin. In particular Guilin so picturesque and Shanghai so modern. We were lucky with our first two guides, Tina (Beijing) and Celine (Xian) who were both excellent. Autumn in Guilin and Mindy in Shanghai were good too. Autumn stayed with us to help us find and order food in the evenings so a couple of long shifts for her. Celine helped arrange a birthday cake for one of our younger travellers. Included meals were excellent. Full banquets usually in local restaurants but we really enjoyed the home cooked lunch as well. Food was plentyful. We even enjoyed the set meal box on the cruise. Hotels were generally of a good standard. Check-in at The Great Wall Hotel in Beijing was really slow though and trying to find a table for breakfast was difficult and located a fair distance away from where the restaurants are (need to get the subway to reach them) The hotel in Guilin was the worst one, the rooms being some distance away from the lift and lobby and small bathrooms. The hotel in Shanghai was excellent. It was nice touch that we got framed photo souvenirs of our trip from Beijing although I think both myself and my sister should have received one each as we paid for single supplements. Some feedback I'd give would be that they need to let us know about the optional night tours that are available on the website/ itinerary before we come out so that we can budget properly. There was a night visit for the Big Goose Pagoda in Xian with the musical fountain light show which we would have liked to have gone to didn't go to due to the weather. We found that the night cruise in Guilin was expensive as the premium we paid for the guide to buy the tickets and come onboard with us was excessive. We could have just walked to the ticket office and bought the tickets ourselves. The night tour of Shanghai was just as expensive but at least that included a coach to drive us around as well as the guide. Having said that, we could have used the subway and got around ourselves and because it started so late, we didn't see much. It is worth going up Jin Mao Tower. Overall, we had a great time on this trip and would recommend Travel China Guide.

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Great Wall & Warriors - 10 days

An enjoyable journey to the most iconic sights of China.

Wild Yunnan 8D: Kunming-Dali-Lijiang- Shangri-La

Since we were traveling in an unpopular travel time, we had our own private tour guide. Our guide, Nancy, was also our driver for Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La. The whole itinerary was very good scheduled and not to packed, so we had time to stroll around the cities by ourselves as well. We were very happy overall and will definitely recommend this tour

China Express - 8 days

Leo was brilliant with the right balance of history, geography and social skills

We were so fortunate to have Qin as our guide on this tour. She took us to so many places, that we would likely not have found on our own. I was particularly impressed by the fact she was able to order us the local delicacies of every place we visited - I have never eaten so much delicious food. Qin's hometown of Yangshuo was the highlight for me, as not only was it absolutely beautiful, but her personal connections with the city and it's people, made it an extra special experience. As a group, we concluded that the bike ride Qin took us on along the river, should be included in the cost, rather than as an additional activity, as it was truly one of the most breathtaking rides we'd ever been on. Qin was very accomodating, even organising a private bus on our day trip to the Terracotta Warriors, to ensure we would have the best experience by maximising our time there. Plus if we ever had any free time, she always had suggestions or recommendations of things we could do (in addition to what was listed). It is worth pointing out that the trip does include extensive travelling, both at night and during the day, and it would be worth including the approximate travel times for each trip for the purposes of transparency. While the trip says 12 days, the first and the last are not counted, and it would be fair to say we lost an additional two days with travelling. Given the amount of ground we covered, this is to be expected, but the details of this travel could be included more clearly in the trip summary (prior to attending the trip). Although it is covered in the notes received once you have booked the trip, it is certainly worth making note (perhaps like the fitness rating) that the trip, given China's air quality, may provided difficult for certain people, such as asthmatics, including myself. While I had medication with me which I was taking regularly, I still found the air pollution caused significant challenges and it was something I could not quite comprehend until having to breathe through it. Overall, a great trip, and one that I am glad I got to experience with the absolutely wonderful Qin as my guide.

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Chinese Cuisine & Culture

I saw a lot and the chosen destinations were very interesting. The organization was also great. Everything went smoothly and on time. All the tour guides were extremely friendly, well informed and very keen to fulfill all wishes. The hotels were clean and well maintained. The hotels were centrally located for exploring on your own. I felt very well looked after, learned a lot about China and can only recommend this trip.

6 Days Lhasa Gyantse Shigatse Group Tour

I traveled with my parents to Tibet for the first time. We all can only say great things by the tour guide given to us by this agency. We would recommend this agency to anyone traveling to Tibet. And our tour guide Lobsung was very special to us. He waited in the airport for us after our flight was delayed due to weather. We where all exhausted, I'm sure he must have been too, but he greeted us very kindly. He was extremely accomodating to us and was constantly there to help us with anything. He is an excellent tour guide!

7 Days Lhasa To Shigatse and Namtso Group Tour

I love this trip so much! It is a lifetime experience I will never forget. The guide was very caring. I was a little dizzy on the first day. The guide constantly asked about my condition. He was also humorous and knowledgeable on Tibetan Buddhism and history. We learned a lot along the way. At EBC, we were so lucky to have good weather. When we look out from the window of the nomad tent, breathtaking! I see the starry sky! With the good arrangement and accompaniment, our trip has become more meaningful and wonderful. Thanks for everything. I highly recommend it to our friends.

What people love about China Tours

Great fun packed itinerary and wonderful leading by the guide Howard from Xian. Amazing, just go.

As a couple surprised by an fantastic individual tour by three very articulate guides and proficient drivers around Beijing, Xian and Shanghai. Learnt not only about history but culture and language today. Felt very safe even when venturing out alone around cities without guides. Our only issue was we could not get internet to connect but that is going to be more us being technophobic. However so supported by guides that not required.

Excellent tour! Very well organised, includes everything that is necessary and I felt treated like a VIP guest all the time! My guide - Yunhua - bent over and backwards to make my trip unforgettable and he also arranged with great efficiency all the extra activities I was asking for (last minute)

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Chinese Travel Is Set to Return. The Question Is, When?

The country has dropped restrictions on overseas journeys for its citizens, but once-popular destinations are still waiting for the flood of vacationers to arrive.

By Ceylan Yeginsu and Patrick Scott

When the first Chinese tourists landed at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok this month, they were greeted like celebrities with welcome banners, flowers, gifts, and a scrum of reporters and photographers.

It was the moment that hotels, airlines, tour operators and government officials had long been waiting for — the reopening of China’s borders after nearly three years of pandemic restrictions that effectively cut the world off from Chinese travelers, once the largest source of global tourism revenue.

“It is very exciting to visit warm beautiful places again,” said Hua Liu, 34, a graphic designer from Shanghai, who was among the first visitors to Thailand, where she took a two-week beach vacation late this month, as part of a Lunar New Year trip. “I will make up for the lost time,” she said in a telephone interview. Her plan: “Stay at nice hotels, book spa treatments, eat at fine restaurants and buy nice gifts for myself and my family.”

Before the coronavirus pandemic paralyzed international travel in 2020, China sent more travelers overseas than any other market, with about 150 million Chinese tourists spending $277 billion abroad in 2018, according to a study by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and the China Tourism Academy. That outflow halted in 2020 and in the last year, even as countries around the world eased travel restrictions, China maintained an international travel ban for its citizens as part of its “zero Covid” policy.

But on Jan. 8, the Chinese government opened its borders, allowing foreign travelers to enter and Chinese residents to go overseas. Some in the travel industry were predicting a flood of international Chinese travelers after search interest for outbound flights from mainland China increased by 83 percent between Dec. 26 and Jan. 5, with international flight bookings up 59 percent in the same period, according to the Chinese online travel agency Ctrip .

But while there has been a bump in tourism to nearby destinations, including Macau, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore, farther-flung destinations are still waiting. In addition to high levels of Covid cases within China, Chinese travelers face long delays in getting passports and visas, high prices for international flights and a lack of capacity, since many carriers cut flights during China’s long lockdown. As of Friday, the number of airline seats available on direct flights from China to Britain in January was at about eight percent of those available in 2019, according to VisitBritain, the official tourist board. The first direct flight scheduled between China and Switzerland on Jan. 26 was canceled because of a lack of passengers.

Thailand gets ready

Before the pandemic, busloads of up to 700 Chinese tourists daily crowded into Maetaeng Elephant Park in the low-slung hills of northern Thailand, about an hour north of Chiang Mai.

Borprit Chailert, the park’s manager, is eagerly awaiting their return, but so far only about 40 Chinese vacationers have shown up, he said.

When they do arrive, renting elephants from nearby villagers to fortify his herd of 76 won’t be difficult, Mr. Chailert said. But it’s hard to know when to bring on more workers and where to find them, since many left the tourist region and switched jobs when tourism stopped, he said.

“If we want to hire 100 people today, we can’t do that because we’re not sure,” he said. “I don’t know, maybe in the next two months the Chinese government says, ‘We’re closing the border again.’”

With its economy heavily dependent on tourism, Thailand lost out on tens of billions of dollars in spending by Chinese tourists over the last three years. The Chiang Mai office of the Tourism Authority estimates that the city, known for its stunning Buddhist temples and heavy dependence on tourism, will welcome back about 600,000 Chinese visitors this year who will spend about $230 million — about half of the total from 2019.

The real numbers won’t start until the second quarter, people in the Thai travel sector say. Many Chinese tourists traditionally come to Thailand on group tours (they made up about half of the Chinese visitors in Chiang Mai), and the Chinese government is not letting tour operators restart their businesses until Feb. 6, and then only under a pilot program with about two dozen countries, including Thailand. For now, only independent Chinese tourists who can afford the expensive airfare are taking trips.

But not everyone is keen to welcome back group tours. Even before Covid, operators in Thailand and China saw a reversal of the group tour trend and a shift toward more tech-savvy Chinese travelers armed with booking and experience apps taking trips on their own.

Over the last decade, while the overall numbers of Chinese tourists rose, group tours dwindled amid a crackdown on cheap so-called zero-dollar tours in Phuket, the 40-mile long island on the Thai peninsula’s west coast. Often illegal operations dodging taxes, the tours typically were controlled by Chinese investors who owned buses, hotels, restaurants, spas and gift shops, siphoning off tourist spending from locals. They were known for pressuring guests to buy overpriced souvenirs at the shops they controlled.

“I don’t think that we will have more of the big tour groups,” said Nantida Atiset, a hotel owner in Phuket and the vice president of the Phuket Tourist Association. “I think they will come back, of course. It’s just a matter of how big they will come back.”

Pricey flights to London and Australia

In London, another popular destination for Chinese travelers, more than 300,000 people visited Chinatown last week for the first Lunar New Year parade since the coronavirus, but few Chinese tourists were present.

Feng Yang, the manager of Shanghai Family, a Chinese restaurant in central London, said that he didn’t expect any travelers from China during the Lunar New Year period, but was hopeful they would return in a few months. “They’re still affected by the coronavirus,” Mr. Yang said, adding that his business would most likely not suffer because about 85 percent of his customers are Chinese students from the surrounding universities, who aren’t going back to China for the holiday.

The slow growth can be blamed on a combination of factors. “There aren’t many flights, they will tend to be more expensive, and people will need a visa to come,” said Patricia Yates, the chief executive of VisitBritain, adding that the return of Chinese travelers to Britain would be a “slow build” this year with higher expectations in 2024. Round-trip flights to London from China are currently running at around $1,300 and Ms. Yates expects the number of seats on flights from China to Britain to grow to only 30 percent of 2019 capacity by June. “That is really necessary to get people on planes,” she said.

Before the pandemic, China was Australia’s biggest visitor market in terms of spending. The country received 1.4 million Chinese visitors in 2019 who spent $12.4 billion.

Chinese travelers have started to return to visit friends and family, but travel operators do not expect an influx of leisure travelers for several months, as flights are expensive and Australia is not on China’s approved list for group tour destinations. Australia also requires coronavirus testing for Chinese travelers. This month, round-trip flights between China and Australia range between $1,800 and $3,000. Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists were known for being willing to spend money, said James Shen, the owner of Odyssey Travel in Melbourne. “Chinese tourists are the ones who say, ‘I don’t want to take a boat, I want to take a helicopter,’” he said. “It might be a 10-minute journey, 400 Australian dollars — very expensive — but Chinese tourists will say, ‘I want to take this, not the boat, because maybe I’ll get seasick.’”

While many travel operators are eager for their return, some worry that the industry may not be able to keep up with a new influx of tourists.

“The industry disappeared for two years; it’ll be very hard for it to recover,” said Rick Liu, the owner of TanTan Holiday travel agency in Melbourne. Many drivers and tour guides found other work while the tourism industry was on pause, he added, and hiring them back may be difficult.

“I’m happy that we’ll have more tourists, but I’m also a bit worried about whether we’ll be able to accommodate them properly, provide them with high enough quality service,” he added. “We’re a bit out of practice.”

Yan Zhuang contributed reporting from Melbourne, Australia, and Derrick Bryson Taylor from London.

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram , Twitter and Facebook . And sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to receive expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2023 .

Ceylan Yeginsu is a travel reporter. She was previously a correspondent for the International desk in Britain and Turkey, covering politics; social justice; the migrant crisis; the Kurdish conflict, and the rise of Islamic State extremism in Syria and the region. More about Ceylan Yeginsu

Outlook for China tourism 2023: Light at the end of the tunnel

China is now removing travel restrictions rapidly, both domestically and internationally. While the sudden opening may lead to uncertainty and hesitancy to travel in the short term, Chinese tourists still express a strong desire to travel. And the recent removal of quarantine requirements in January 2023 could usher in a renewed demand for trips abroad.

Domestically, there are already signs of strong travel recovery. The recent Chinese New Year holidays saw 308 million domestic trips, generating almost RMB 376 billion in tourism revenue. 1 China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. This upswing indicates that domestic travel volume has recovered to 90 percent of 2019 figures, and spending has bounced back to around 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels. 2 McKinsey analysis based on China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism data.

This article paints a picture of Chinese travelers and their evolving spending behaviors and preferences—and suggests measures that tourism service providers and destinations could take to prepare for their imminent return. The analyses draw on the findings of McKinsey’s latest Survey of Chinese Tourist Attitudes, and compare the results across six waves of surveys conducted between April 2020 and November 2022, along with consumer sentiment research and recent travel data.

From pandemic to endemic

By January 8, 2023, cross-city travel restrictions, border closures, and quarantine requirements on international arrivals to China had been lifted. 3 “Graphics: China’s 20 new measures for optimizing COVID-19 response,” CGTN, November 15, 2022; “COVID-19 response further optimized with 10 new measures,” China Services Info, December 8, 2022; “China reopens borders in final farewell to zero-COVID,” Reuters, January 8, 2023. This rapid removal of domestic travel restrictions, and an increase in COVID-19 infection rates, likely knocked travel confidence for cross-city and within-city trips. Right after the first easing of measures, in-city transport saw a marked drop as people stayed home—either because they were ill, or to avoid exposure. Subway traffic in ten major cities in mainland China fell and then spiked during Chinese New Year in February. Hotel room bookings also peaked at this time.

Domestic airline seat capacity experienced a minor rebound as each set of restrictions was lifted—suggesting a rise in demand as airlines scheduled more flights. Domestic capacity fluctuated, possibly due to the accelerated COVID-19 infection rate and a temporary labor shortage. International seat capacity, however, continued to climb (Exhibit 1).

By Chinese new year, China was past its infection peak—and domestic tourism recovered strongly. For instance, Hainan drew 6.4 million visitors over Chinese New Year (up from 5.8 million in 2019) and visits to Shanghai reached 10 million (roughly double 2019 holiday figures). 4 China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Overall, revenue per available room (RevPAR) during this period recovered and surpassed pre-pandemic levels, at 120 percent of 2019 figures. 5 STR data. Outbound trips are still limited, but given the pent-up demand for international travel (and the upswing in domestic tourism) the tourism industry may need to prepare to welcome back Chinese tourists.

Tourism players should be ready for this; the time to act is now.

A demand boom is around the corner—Chinese tourists are returning soon

Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists were eager travelers. Mainland China had the largest outbound travel market in the world, both in number of trips and total spend. 6 World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Tourism dashboard, Outbound tourism ranking. In 2019, Mainland Chinese tourists took 155 million outbound trips, totaling $255 billion in travel spending. 7 China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. These figures indicate total outbound trips, including to Hong Kong and Macau. China is also an important source market for some major destinations. For instance, Chinese travelers made up 28 percent of inbound tourism in Thailand, 30 percent in Japan, and 16 percent of non-EU visitors to Germany. 8 United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) database.

Leisure travel was the biggest driver of China’s outbound travel, representing 65 percent of travelers in 2019. In the same year, 29 percent of travelers ventured out for business, and 6 percent journeyed to visit friends and relatives. 9 Euromonitor International database.

Our most recent Survey of Chinese Tourist Attitudes, conducted in November 2022, shows that Chinese tourists have retained their keen desire to explore international destinations. About 40 percent of respondents reported that they expect to undertake outbound travel for their next leisure trip.

Where do these travelers want to go?

The results also indicate that the top three overseas travel destinations (beyond Hong Kong and Macau) are Australia/New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and Japan. Overall, respondents show less interest in travel to Europe than in previous years, down from 7 percent to 4 percent compared to wave 5 respondents. Desire to embark on long-haul international trips to Australia/New Zealand increased from 5 percent to 7 percent, and North American trips from 3 percent to 4 percent since the last survey. The wealthier segment (monthly household income over RMB 38,000) still shows a high interest in EU destinations (13 percent).

There are stumbling blocks on the road to recovery

While travel sentiment is strong, other factors may deter travelers from taking to the skies: fear of COVID-19; the need for COVID-19 testing which can be expensive; ticket prices; risk appetite of destination countries; and getting a passport or visa.

Chinese travelers may favor domestic trips, even if all outbound travel restrictions are removed, until they feel it is safe to travel internationally. A COVID-19-safe environment in destination countries will likely boost travelers’ confidence and encourage them to book trips again. 10 “Long-haul travel barometer,” European Travel Commission, February 1, 2023.

Travel recovery is also dependent on airline capacity. Some international airlines might be slow to restore capacity as fleets were retired during COVID-19 and airlines face a shortage of crew, particularly pilots. Considering that at the time of writing, in April 2023, international airline seat capacity has only recovered to around 37 percent of pre-pandemic levels, travelers are likely to face elevated ticket prices in the coming months. For instance, ticket prices for travel in the upcoming holidays to popular overseas destinations such as Japan and Thailand are double what they were in 2019. 11 Based on Ctrip prices. Price-sensitive travelers might wait for ticket prices to level out before booking their overseas trips.

Chinese airlines, however, appear more ready to resume full service than their international counterparts —fewer pilots left the industry and aircraft are available. Chinese carriers’ widebody fleets are mostly in service or ready to be redeployed (Exhibit 2).

Moving forward, safety measures in destination countries will affect travel recovery. Most countries have dropped testing requirements on arrivals from mainland China, and Chinese outbound group travel has resumed but is still limited to selected countries.

Many Chinese travelers—maybe 20 percent—have had passports expire during the COVID-19 period, and China has not been renewing these passports. Renewals are now possible, but the backlog will slow travel’s rebound by a few months. 12 Steve Saxon, “ What to expect from China’s travel rebound ,” McKinsey, January 25, 2023. Furthermore, travel visas for destination countries can take some time to be processed and issued.

Taken together, these factors suggest that the returning wave of Chinese travelers may only gather momentum by the Summer of 2023 and that China’s travel recovery will likely lag Hong Kong’s by a few months.

Overall, China is opening up to travel, both inbound and outbound—all types of visas are being issued to foreign visitors, and locals are getting ready to travel abroad. 13 “China to resume issuing all types of visas for foreigners,” China Briefing, March 14, 2023.

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The returning chinese traveler is evolving.

Although Chinese travelers did not have opportunities to travel internationally over the past three years, they continued to travel domestically and explore new offerings. Annual domestic trips remained at around 50 percent of pre-pandemic levels, amounting to 8.7 billion domestic trips over the past three years. 14 China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. During this time, the domestic market matured, and travelers became more sophisticated as they tried new leisure experiences such as beach resorts, skiing trips, and “staycations” in home cities. Chinese travelers became more experienced as thanks to periods of low COVID-19 infection rates domestically they explored China’s vast geography and diverse experiences on offer.

Consequently, the post-COVID-19 Chinese traveler is even more digitally savvy, has high expectations, and seeks novel experiences. These are some of the characteristics of a typical traveler:

• Experience-oriented: Wave 6 of the survey shows that the rebound tourist is planning their trip around experiences. Outdoor and scenic trips remain the most popular travel theme. In survey waves 1 to 3, sightseeing and “foodie” experiences were high on the list of preferences while traveling. From waves 4 to 6, culture and history, beaches and resorts, and health and wellness gained more attention—solidifying the trend for experience-driven travel. Additionally, possibly due to the hype of the Winter Olympics, skiing and snowboarding have become popular activities.
• Hyper-digitized: While digitization is a global trend, Chinese consumers are some of the most digitally savvy in the world; mobile technologies and social media are at the core of daily life. COVID-19 drove people to spend more time online—now short-form videos and livestreaming have become the top online entertainment options in China. In the first half of 2022, Chinese consumers spent 30 percent of their mobile internet time engaging with short videos. 15 “In the first half of the year, the number of mobile netizens increased, and short videos accounted for nearly 30% of the total time spent online,” Chinadaily.com, 27 July 2022.
• Exploration enthusiasts: Chinese travelers are also keen to explore the world and embark on novel experiences in unfamiliar destinations. Survey respondents were looking forward to visiting new attractions, even when travel policies limited their travel radius. Instead of revisiting destinations, 45 percent of respondents picked short trips to new sites as their number one choice, followed by long trips to new sites as their second choice.

Consumers are optimistic, and travel spending remains resilient

McKinsey’s 2022 research on Chinese consumer sentiment shows that although economic optimism is seeing a global decline, 49 percent of Chinese respondents reported that they are optimistic about their country’s economic recovery. Optimism had dropped by 6 percentage points since an earlier iteration of the survey, but Chinese consumers continue to be more optimistic than other surveyed countries, apart from India (80 percent optimistic) and Indonesia (73 percent optimistic) (Exhibit 3). 16 “ Survey: Chinese consumer sentiment during the coronavirus crisis ,” McKinsey, October 13, 2022.

Chinese consumers are still keen to spend on travel, and travel spending is expected to be resilient. Wave 6 of the tourist attitude survey saw 87 percent of respondents claiming that they will spend more or maintain their level of travel spending. Moreover, when consumers were asked “which categories do you intend to splurge/treat yourself to,” travel ranked second, with 29 percent of respondents preferring travel over other categories. 17 “ Survey: Chinese consumer sentiment during the coronavirus crisis ,” McKinsey, October 13, 2022.

Against this context of consumer optimism, the wave 6 tourist attitude survey results shed light on how travelers plan to spend, and which segments are likely to spend more than others:

• The wealthier segment and older age groups (age 45-65) show the most resilience in terms of travel spend. Around 45 to 50 percent of travelers in these two groups will spend more on their next leisure trip.
• The wealthier segment has shown the most interest in beach and resort trips (48 percent). Instead of celebrating Chinese New Year at home with family, 30 percent of Chinese travelers in the senior age group (age 55-65) expect to take their next leisure trip during this holiday—10 percent more than the total average. And the top three trip preferences for senior travelers are culture, sightseeing, and health-themed trips.
• When it comes to where travelers plan to spend their money on their next trip, entertainment activities, food, and shopping are the most popular categories. These are also the most flexible and variable spending categories, and there are opportunities to up-sell—attractions, food and beverage, and retail players are well positioned to create unique and unexpected offerings to stimulate spending in this area (Exhibit 4).

Independent accommodation is gaining popularity

Overall, Chinese consumers have high expectations for products and services. McKinsey’s 2023 consumer report found that local brands are on the rise and consumers are choosing local products for their quality, not just for their cheaper prices. Chinese consumers are becoming savvier, and tap into online resources and social media to educate themselves about the specific details and features of product offerings. 18 Daniel Zipser, Daniel Hui, Jia Zhou, and Cherie Zhang, 2023 McKinsey China Consumer Report , McKinsey, December 2022.

Furthermore, 49 percent of Chinese consumers believe that domestic brands are of “better quality” than foreign brands—only 23 percent believe the converse is true. Functionality extended its lead as the most important criterion influencing Chinese consumers, indicating that consumers are focusing more on the functional aspects of products, and less on emotional factors. Branding thus has less influence on purchasing decisions. 19 Daniel Zipser, Daniel Hui, Jia Zhou, and Cherie Zhang, 2023 McKinsey China Consumer Report , McKinsey, December 2022.

These broader consumer sentiments are echoed in the travel sector. Chinese travelers pay attention to cost, but do not simply seek out the lowest prices. While 17 percent of wave 6 respondents are concerned about low prices, 33 percent are on the hunt for value-for-money offerings, and 30 percent prefer good discounts and worthwhile deals.

And consumer sentiment regarding local brands holds true for travel preferences. Independent travel accommodation continues to be the preferred choice for most respondents, increasing in share against international chain brand hotels (Exhibit 5). Almost 60 percent of respondents prefer independent accommodation such as boutique hotels, B&Bs, and Airbnb—an 8 percentage-point increase since 2020.

Local chain brand hotels remain stable, the favored accommodation for 20 percent of respondents. These hotels are seen as a more standardized option, and as most are located in urban areas, they target the budget traveler segment.

Opting for independent accommodation is not considered a trade down; Chinese travelers expect a high level of service. In particular, respondents in the wealthier segment picked independent options (57 percent) over international premium brands (27 percent).

Premium independent options for the wealthier segment are abundant, specifically in leisure travel. Setting up a premium brand hotel requires long-term construction periods and heavy capital investment. Small-scale boutique hotels or B&Bs, on the other hand, are more agile solutions that can ramp up in the short term. This may explain the abundance of premium independent offerings. For instance, in destinations such as Lijiang and Yangshuo, between seven and nine of the top-ten premium hotels listed on Ctrip are independent boutique hotels.

Premium independent accommodation’s strength lies in quality guest experience with a genuine human touch. The service level at premium independent establishments can even surpass that of chain brand accommodation thanks to the high staff-to-room ratio, which easily reaches 3:1 or even 5:1. 20 “Strategic marketing analysis of boutique hotels,” Travel Daily , June 3, 2015. For hotels in Xiamen, Lijiang, and Yangshou, Ctrip service ratings of premium independent hotels are all above 4.7, outperforming international chain brand hotels.

Travelers are becoming smarter and more realistic during hotel selection, focusing on fundamental offerings such as local features and value for money. Across all types of hotels, local features are one of the most important factors influencing hotel selection—even for chain brand hotels which have a reputation for mastering the standardized offering. On average, 34 percent of respondents report that local features and cultural elements are the key considerations affecting their choice of hotel.

Outbound Chinese tourists are evolving rapidly, becoming increasingly diverse in their travel preferences, behaviors, and spending patterns. Chinese travelers are not homogeneous, and their needs and preferences continue to evolve. Therefore, serving each group of tourists may require different product offerings, sales channels, or marketing techniques.

The path toward eco-friendly travel in China

How international travel and tourism can attract outbound chinese travelers.

China’s lifting of travel restrictions may cause some uncertainty in the short term, but a promising recovery lies ahead. Chinese tourists have maintained a strong desire to travel internationally and are willing to pay for this experience. They are also discerning and looking for high-quality accommodation, offerings, and service. As boutique hotels are becoming more popular, international hotel brands hotels could, for example, aim to stand out by leveraging their experience in service excellence.

With renewed travel demand, now may be the time for international travel and tourism businesses to invest in polishing product offerings—on an infrastructural and service level. Tourism, food and beverage, retail, and entertainment providers can start preparing for the rebound by providing unique and innovative experiences that entice the adventurous Chinese traveler.

Craft an authentically local offering that appeals to experience-driven Chinese travelers

Chinese travelers have suspended overseas trips for three years, and are now looking to enjoy high-quality experiences in destinations they have been to before. They also want to do more than shopping and sightseeing, and have expressed willingness to spend on offerings geared towards entertainment and experience. This includes activities like theme parks, snow sports, water sports, shows, and cultural activities. Authentic experiences can satisfy their desire for an immersive foreign experience, but they often want the experience to be familiar and accessible.

Designing the right product means tapping into deep customer insights to craft offerings that are accessible for Chinese travelers, within a comfortable and familiar setting, yet are still authentic and exciting.

Travel and tourism providers may also have opportunities to up-sell or cross-sell experiences and entertainment offerings.

Social media is essential

Social media is emerging as one of the most important sources of inspiration for travel. Short video now is a major influence channel across all age groups and types of consumers.

Tourist destinations have begun to leverage social media, and short video campaigns, to maximize exposure. For example, Tourism Australia recently launched a video campaign with a kangaroo character on TikTok, and overall views soon reached around 1.67 billion.

The story of Ding Zhen, a young herder from a village in Sichuan province, illustrates the power of online video in China. In 2020, a seven-second video of Ding Zhen turned him into an overnight media sensation. Soon after, he was approached to become a tourism ambassador for Litang county in Sichuan—and local tourism flourished. 21 “Tibetan herder goes viral, draws attention to his hometown in SW China,” Xinhuanet, December 11, 2020. Another Sichuan local, the director of the Culture and Tourism Bureau in Ganzi, has drawn visitors to the region through his popular cosplay videos that generated 7 million reviews. Building on the strength of these influential celebrities, visitor numbers to the region were said to reach 35 million, more than two-and-a-half times 2016 volumes. 22 “Local official promoting Sichuan tourism goes viral on internet,” China Daily, June 17, 2022; “The Director of Culture and Tourism disguises himself as a “Swordsman” knight to promote Ganzi tourism,” Travel Daily , June 17, 2022.

Online travel companies are also using social media to reach consumers. Early in the pandemic, Trip.com took advantage of the upward trend in livestreaming. The company’s co-founder and chairman of the board, James Liang, hosted weekly livestreams where he dressed up in costume or chatted to guests at various destinations. Between March and October 2020, Liang’s livestreams sold around $294 million’s worth of travel packages and hotel room reservations. 23 “Travel companies adapt to a livestreaming trend that may outlast the pandemic,” Skift, October 26, 2020.

Livestreaming is being used by tourism boards, too. For instance, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) collaborated with Trip.com to launch a new campaign to attract Chinese tourists to Thailand as cross-border travel resumed. The broadcast, joined by TAT Governor Mr Yuthasak Supasorn, recorded sales of more than 20,000 room nights amounting to a gross merchandise value of over RMB 40 million. 24 “Trip.com Group sees border reopening surge in travel bookings boosted by Lunar New Year demand,” Trip.com, January 13, 2023.

International tourism providers looking to engage Chinese travelers should keep an eye on social media channels and fully leverage key opinion leaders.

Scale with the right channel partners

Travel distribution in China has evolved into a complex, fragmented, and Chinese-dominated ecosystem, making scaling an increasingly difficult task. Travel companies need to understand the key characteristics of each channel type, including online travel agencies (OTAs), online travel portals (OTPs), and traditional travel agencies as each target different customer segments, and offer different levels of control to brands. It also takes different sets of capabilities to manage each type of distribution channel.

Travel companies can prioritize the channels they wish to use and set clear roles for each. One challenge when choosing the right channel partner is to avoid ultra-low prices that may encourage volume, but could ultimately damage a brand.

Meanwhile, given the evolution of the postCOVID-19 industry landscape and rapid shifts in consumer demand, travel companies should consider direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels. The first step would be selecting the appropriate D2C positioning and strategy, according to the company’s needs. In China, D2C is a complicated market involving both public domains (such as social media and OTA platforms) and private domains (such as official brand platforms). To make the most of D2C, travel companies need a clear value proposition for their D2C strategy, whether it be focused on branding or on commercial/sales.

Create a seamless travel experience for the digitally savvy Chinese tourist

China has one of the most digitally advanced lifestyles on the planet. Chinese travelers are mobile-driven, wallet-less, and impatient—and frequently feel “digitally homesick” while abroad. Overseas destinations and tourism service providers could “spoil” tech-savvy Chinese travelers with digitally enhanced service.

China’s internet giants can provide a shortcut to getting digital services off the ground. Rather than building digital capabilities from scratch, foreign tourism providers could engage Chinese travelers through a platform that is already being used daily. For example, Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport provides a WeChat Mini Program with four modules: duty-free shopping, flight inquiry, information transfer, and travel planning. This contains information about all aspects of the airport, including ground transportation and tax refund procedures.

Alibaba’s Alipay, a third-party mobile and online payment platform, is also innovating in this space. The service provider has cooperated with various tax refund agencies, such as Global Blue, to enable a seamless digitized tax refund experience. Travelers scan completed tax refund forms at automated kiosks in the airport, and within a few hours, the refunded amount is transferred directly to their Alipay accounts. 25 “Alipay and Global Blue to make tax refunds easy for Chinese tourists,” Alizila, June 23, 2014.

Such digital applications are likely to be the norm going forward, not a differentiator, so travel companies that do not invest in this area may be left behind.

Chinese travelers are on the cusp of returning in full force, and tourism providers can start preparing now

With China’s quarantine requirements falling away at the start of 2023, travelers are planning trips, renewing passports and visas, and readying themselves for a comeback. Chinese tourists have not lost their appetite for travel, and a boom in travel demand can be expected soon. Though airlines are slow to restore capacity, and some destination countries are more risk averse when welcoming Chinese travelers, there are still options for Chinese tourists to explore destinations abroad.

Tourism providers can expect to welcome travelers with diverse interests who are willing to spend money on travel, who are seeking out exciting experiences, and who are choosing high-quality products and services. The returning Chinese traveler is digitally savvy and favors functionality over branding—trends suggest that providers who can craft authentic, seamless, and unique offerings could be well positioned to capture this market.

Guang Chen and Jackey Yu are partners in McKinsey’s Hong Kong office, Zi Chen is a capabilities and insights specialist in the Shanghai office, and Steve Saxon is a partner in the Shenzhen office.

The authors wish to thank Cherie Zhang, Glenn Leibowitz, Na Lei, and Monique Wu for their contributions to this article.

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Recovery in Chinese Tourism to the U.S. Is Happening – But It’s Lagging Other Countries

Dawit Habtemariam , Skift

April 30th, 2024 at 3:29 PM EDT

It's good news that Chinese tourism will recover faster than expected. Weak air connectivity remains a problem.

Dawit Habtemariam

The U.S. travel industry will see a full recovery in Chinese and Japanese tourism by 2026 — one year earlier than previously projected, according to the U.S. National and Travel Tourism Office’s latest annual forecast released Tuesday.

But both China and Japan will behind the rest of the U.S.’ source markets – the office expects international travel to the U.S. to fully recover in 2025.

“Both Japan and China will exceed 2019 levels, but it’s going to be one year later [than other markets],” said David Huether, deputy director for the National Travel and Tourism Office, during a webinar to discuss the forecast. “This is actually an improvement. In last year’s forecast, these two countries didn’t even recover in the window overall.”

Huether noted China and Japan outpaced other markets and started to pick up in 2023, the year both countries started to reopen to international travel. Japanese visitation rose 154% and Chinese visitation increased by 190% in 2023, he said.

“[China was] the eighth-largest source market last year,” said Jackie Ennis, vice president of global trade development at Brand USA.

Huether said that before the pandemic, China was the U.S.’s third-largest source market in terms of volume. 

Brand USA CEO and President Chris Thompson told Skift in 2023 that Chinese tourists spent over $30 billion in 2019, making them the U.S.’ highest spenders.

Barriers to Chinese Tourism to the U.S.

Huether cited China’s weak economy and flight restrictions as reasons why China is behind other source markets. The war in Ukraine and and geopolitics continue to be barriers to the restoration of flights.

Air connectivity between China and the U.S. is 25% of its pre-pandemic level, said Ennis.

The U.S. government has been approving flights slowly. “Every single route has to be approved by the U.S. federal government versus just the commercial supply and demand issue, leading to this layering of route development,” said Visit California CEO and President Caroline Beteta in a previous interview with Skift.

In April, the aviation industry trade group Airlines for America sent a letter to the U.S. government asking for a pause on more passenger flights between China and the U.S.

Rising Airfares Discourage Some Japanese Travelers 

Ennis said that due to the lack of air connectivity between China and the U.S., many Chinese tourists are flying through Tokyo, Seoul, and Taipei, lifting the airfares for Japanese travelers.

“Not only are the Japanese very risk averse in terms of coming to the U.S. immediately post-pandemic, but the cost factor is enormous,” she said. “We’re looking at really high rates out of Tokyo for the leisure traveler coming to the U.S.”

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China railway trips to reach 144 mln during May Day holiday

China's railway network is expected to handle 144 million passenger trips during the eight-day May Day holiday travel rush, the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. said Monday. 

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• Chinese tourists injured in bus accident in Moscow

A bus carrying a group of 30 Chinese tourists, a tour guide and an organizer, crashed into a utility pole in east Moscow on Sunday, injuring 11 people, Russian police told Chinese consular officials.

Surveillance camera footage showed that the accident happened when the bus turned right abruptly to avoid rear-ending cars waiting for the traffic light at an intersection and then bumped against the utility pole, smashing the windscreen.

The injured have been taken to the hospital for medical check-ups. One suffered a nasal fracture and one received a cerebral concussion, while the rest got bruises, according to the Chinese consular service.

The injured did not fasten their seat belts when the accident took place, which was partially caused by the slippery road in the drizzle, it said.

The bus was bound for the ancient town of Suzdal in the Vladimir Region northeast of Moscow. The group of tourists arrived in Moscow on Saturday and planned to fly back to China from St. Petersburg on Aug. 23.

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