31.08.2017

Even though there is much rumor out there that the “golden years” of continuous economic growth in China are over, one industry is still enjoying a strong and ongoing increase in sales, the tourism business. The Chinese have finally and definitely discovered traveling. Yet, in most cases, they don’t go on big journeys abroad anymore, but rather prefer smaller trips, both within China and to nearby Asian countries.

“Local tourism” is booming here. I just recently read that according to estimates of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), tourism represented 11% of the Chinese economy in 2016, with the entire sales volume of the Chinese tourism industry ascending to 469 billion Renminbi (about 60 billion euros). This is about 14% more than in the previous year (Source).

More attractive traveling in China thanks to improved infrastructure

The majority of Chinese tourists stay within their country. The Chinese Tourism Academy calculated about 4 billion tourist travel movements within the country in 2016, compared to “only” about 122 million movements to foreign countries (Source). A central factor which facilitated this boom of domestic travel is the continuously improving Chinese transport system. For quite a long time, enormous amounts of money have been invested in the public infrastructure, especially in the expansion of our high-speed railway system, airports and highways.

Since 2008, when the first high-speed train route was opened on the occasion of the Olympic Games, another 20,000 km of railways have been put into operation. As far as I know, this makes China the country with the largest railway network of this kind worldwide. Thanks to the enhanced of infrastructure, traveling within China has become much more convenient, faster and comfortable, and thus more attractive altogether. I should mention here that we just have very few days of vacation, only three weeks per year. Each of these three weeks of vacation is called “Golden Week” and includes important national holidays. And it is during these weeks that we obviously experience massive travel peaks. With a fast train or by plane, it often takes only a few hours to get to your destination. This has made smaller trips considerably more attractive.

The Chinese provinces are doing successful advertising

But it is not only the major international events (2008 Olympic Games, 2010 World Exposition) in metropolitan cities like Shanghai or Beijing which upgrade China as a travel destination. Rural areas are increasingly becoming a focus of the tourism industry. Among other things, this has to do with the fact that many local tourism administrations are in close contact with film and TV producers, making sure their landscapes and sites of natural beauty appear in movies. A good example is the karst landscape of Wulong, which has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 2007, but had been relatively insignificant as a travel destination in China. This changed when epical images of the canyons were shown (for nearly four minutes) in the blockbuster “Transformers 4”.

According to the tourism administration of Wulong, the number of visitors increased drastically, with up to 14,000 visitors on one single day, after the movie hit theaters. So far, such figures had only been reached in the “Golden Week” in the fall. Of course, Wulong with its presence in a Hollywood production is a particularly spectacular example. But there are many small provinces and towns appearing in Chinese productions, which have made them famous all over the country. I must admit that I myself had never heard of Wulong, until I saw Transformers. I guess my next recreational short trip with my wife will take me there.

Greater work-life balance? More relaxing short trips!

Talking about recreation: Among ourselves and our circle of friends, we notice that small trips to the countryside or to provinces which are considered to offer relaxation are a big trend. Healthy air and fresh food from the countryside are becoming more and more important as counterpoles to life in the megacities. This is why sometimes we take our car and leave Shanghai to spend the night with people in the countryside in order to escape from the heat and the polluted air. Chinese cities are famous for their bad air quality, and this is not just a rumor. Especially in the younger generation, many people are aware that this pollution doesn’t quite promote their health and that you sometimes have to recover in nature, if you can’t do much about the overall situation itself. A few years ago, we were all focusing on famous places and sites. Everybody wanted to go to Beijing, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. This has changed a bit in the meantime. Now “small” destinations are popular as well which offer relaxation and a “healthy time out”.

Traveling abroad: the luxury of a growing minority

Apart from domestic trips, travel abroad of course plays a role as well, even though it is a minor one. European metropolises like Paris, London or Berlin have already noticed long ago that more and more Chinese people can afford trips abroad. In 2016, 122 million trips of Chinese citizens to foreign countries were registered. In all, these tourists spent about 109.8 billion Dollars, which would be an average of 900 Dollars per person and trip.

Chinese tourists’ top travel destinations: dominant role of Asia

The ten countries which are most popular among Chinese tourists, according to the Tourism Academy, are Thailand (with Phuket as the most popular destination in the country), South Korea (Jeju Island), Japan, Indonesia (esp. Bali), Singapore, USA, Malaysia, the Maldives Islands, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Russia ranks 12th, Italy 15th, England 18th and Germany 20th on this list of destinations which is clearly dominated by Asian countries. The reasons are not only the geographical and cultural proximity of these countries and the lower prices, but also their favorable visa regulations for Chinese tourists. In terms of visa, it is significantly cheaper and less complicated to travel to one of the Asian countries than to the US or Europe.

Although more and more countries are slightly easing their visa policies for Chinese, most European countries still require a visa. In contrast, the visa regulations in most Asian countries are less strict, the visa cost less, and the tourists must present far fewer documents to obtain them. The number of Chinese tourists in Vietnam and on the Philippines has even more than doubled between 2015 and 2016, as both countries completely abolished all visa requirements for Chinese citizens.

The high growth rates of Chinese tourists in Asian countries definitely have to do with the fact that these countries are easier to reach and offer cheaper local prices. Another factor is that it is not only the really rich Chinese citizens who want to travel nowadays, but a constantly growing middle class. This middle class can afford traveling more easily if the destination is Seoul, Hanoi or Bangkok and is only two hours away by plane. A flight to Paris or Rome does not only take longer, it is also costlier, not to mention hotel costs and living expenses.

Of course, the fact that many of my fellow citizens feel closer culturally to Asian countries with their habits and cuisine than to Europe also plays a certain role in their decision. This is no different from European tourists who consider Asian countries to be too exotic for their vacations.

Trips to the USA and Europe

However, European countries like France and Italy, and the USA are still very popular destinations for a certain social stratum of Chinese citizens: People who simply have a lot of money, business people, or people who work for foreign companies and have close contact with Western cultures in general. And of course, these families’ children. Their main motives for trips to the US and Europe are mostly shopping, sightseeing, culture and studies.

Shopping (especially in Italy and France) is so popular, because we pay high taxes on foreign luxury brands here in China. And of course, because many of us feel that the Dior purse bought at the real Dior shop in Paris is of higher quality than the one you can get in China. And you can be sure it is not a professionally made counterfeit.

Besides shopping, the cultural highlights of Europe and the US are important, too. The Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Empire State Building in New York and Big Ben in London are sites Chinese people want to have seen once in their lifetimes as well. And we also associate certain countries with great yearnings and emotions: For us, too, France stands for romanticism, love, elegance and great cuisine. This is why many couples choose Paris as their honeymoon destination. In contrast, for us, too, the US is the country of freedom and unlimited opportunities. Many young Chinese dream of a road trip in California to live this unique feeling of “freedom”.

A topic which has become relevant to more and more Chinese parents and youth is studying abroad. The US, Great Britain and Australia are clearly leading the list of countries chosen for this purpose. Prior to such a decision, many families travel to the respective country to inform themselves more thoroughly or visit potential places where their children might study. There is even a word for this type of tourism: “游学” ("Study Tour”).

Future perspective: more Chinese individual tourists and differentiated desires

In the future, traveling will certainly increase in China even more. Making several trips a year will be an integral part of our lives. And the desires and needs we want to satisfy with each trip will become as differentiated as they have been in countries like Germany for a long time. 60% of all trips abroad are already individual trips, and only 40% are package tours. The old travel mode of “10-countries-in-10-days” will become less and less popular. People will take more time for experiences, gradually broaden their horizons and feel that they are global citizens, who have access to French cooking classes in Paris, heated soccer games in Madrid or extreme outdoor tours in New Zealand.