A night at the Cliff Hotel (pictured) in China’s Guizhou province starts at about $83, according to Trip.com. The hotel will be built in 2023 and has 34 rooms.
Noor Photos | Noor Photos | Getty Images
BEIJING – An increasing number of Chinese tourists are choosing cheaper domestic destinations over foreign tourist attractions.
A survey released this month by consulting firm Oliver Wyman showed that only 14% of high-income households who traveled abroad last year planned to do so again in 2024. This segment covers households in mainland China with a monthly income of at least 30,000 yuan ($4,140, or approximately $50,000 per year).
The survey found that the top reason for choosing their home country was “abundant domestic travel options”, followed by international travel that was “too expensive”.
Oliver Wyman said travel in mainland China costs less than 1,000 yuan per person, while traveling to Hong Kong or Japan costs thousands of yuan.
Local tourism has been a bright spot in China’s recovery from Covid-19 controls that ended in late 2022. Ctrip Indicates the booking volume of rural destinations in China in 2023 grew 2.6 times compared to pre-pandemic levels.
During the holiday period from May 1 to 5 this year, domestic tourist arrivals and revenue Surge compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, official data shows. International travel is slightly below 2019 levels, according to CNBC analysis official data.
In mainland China, smaller cities such as Yangzhou, Luoyang, Qinhuangdao, Guilin and Zibo have seen the fastest growth in travel bookings, Oliver Wyman said.
“This year, domestic tourism will exceed pre-pandemic levels,” said Ashley Dudarenok, founder of Chinese digital consulting firm ChoZan.
She expects the recovery of Chinese overseas travel to take longer, in part because “the anger and insecurity in the rest of the world is even greater than in 2023.”
By comparison, a record number of Americans have applied for passports to travel abroad in the past two years. Skyscanner report It said 85% of U.S. travelers plan to travel at least as much or more internationally this year than in 2023.
U.S. and Chinese officials held a summit Last week in Xi’an promote tourism between the two countries.
Once you become popular, you will have thousands of visitors at your doorstep.
Ashley Dudarenok
Cao Shan, founder
It’s unclear to what extent tourist interest from China’s less developed regions will last and whether it will translate into sustainable growth. But the short-term impact on some areas is huge.
Southern Guangxi Autonomous Region Guilin’s famous limestone hillsThe State Council issued a plan to promote consumption this year and strengthen publicity and tourism subsidies.
Officials said the region’s total tourism revenue in the first quarter was 258.18 billion yuan, an increase of nearly 24% compared with the same period last year. Local authorities said local government subsidies for performing arts brought 48.3 million yuan in ticket revenue to 230,000 people, boosting economic activity of about 460 million yuan.
It takes about 2.5 hours’ flight to reach the Nanjing City Wall tourist attraction in the east of Guangxi. According to statistics, nearly 1.3 million tourists were received in the first quarter, and revenue reached 19.2 million yuan, twice that of 2019. local media.
Competing for media attention
Local governments outside China’s major cities have been stepping up efforts to attract tourists, mainly through Social media.
Guangxi officials said earlier this month that their promotional videos on apps such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu (known as “Little Red Book” or “Red” in English) have millions of viewers.
“They’re trying to go viral, they’re trying to engage their communities, their cultural heritage, put everything online,” Dudarenok said. “Once you go viral, there are thousands of people on your doorstep. tourists.”
Last year, barbecue skewers culture took off on social media in Zibo, the eastern province of Shandong, and people flocked to the town. Likewise, three million tourists flocked to the city of Harbin during the three-day New Year’s Eve holiday after its ice sculptures and unique northern customs attracted attention on social media.
Television programs focusing on specific regions also help promote tourism.
A TV series set in Altay brings visibility to remote areas of Xinjiang Province in the far west The number of tourists increased by nearly 38% According to iQiyi, which released the miniseries, the first three days of the May Day holiday this year compared to a year ago.
“TV programs are very attractive,” Dudarenok said, adding that “food is always the most important reason for Chinese tourists to travel.”
China’s vast network of high-speed trains and flights make it easier for people to visit small towns, even for just two or three days.
Domestic air ticket booking Ctrip The company said last week that it grew 30% annually in the first quarter. The report pointed out that Chinese consumers now pay more attention to “emotional satisfaction”, which has triggered interest in personalized travel.
According to FactSet records, Trip.com management said on the earnings call that “strengthened marketing efforts in many provinces have effectively encouraged travelers to explore different destinations.”
Businesses and local governments are working together in other ways to increase attention, if not revenue.
Yang Hua, chairman of the preparatory committee, said officials from tourist attractions and local governments have sought promotional opportunities from the Miss Tourism Asia pageant.
“Currently, China’s domestic tourism industry is relatively fragmented,” Yang said in Mandarin (translated by CNBC). He hopes to create destination-specific events for the city to attract tourists in the coming years.
Miss Tourism Asia last year filmed promotional fashion videos for contestants in the desert around Xinjiang’s Aral Sea City, and the pageant finals will be held on January 1, 2024 in Dongguan City, Guangzhou Province.
Oliver Wyman said Chinese consumers’ current preference for domestic travel means international travel may not fully return to 2019 levels until late 2025, half a year later than previous forecasts.
In the longer term, Dudarenok expects international tourist destinations will need to upgrade their experiences to adapt to China’s rise in trendy, modern hotels and other tourism services.
“Chinese tourists are not easy to please,” she said.
—CNBC’s Greg Iacurci and Yulia Jiang contributed to this report.
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