Singapore and Macau favoured destinations for Chinese gamblers, COTRI

Wednesday 17th of September 2014

Singapore and Macau are favored destinations for Chinese gamblers but competition from smaller destinations with casinos is increasing and Korea is moving up the fastest, research from China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI) found.

"Chinese are discovering more and more smaller destinations, for leisure trips, for investment, and also for gambling. The share of destinations outside the TOP 10 list of Chinese travellers will grow from 19 percent in the last twelve months to 24 percent in the forthcoming year," wrote COTRI director Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt, an AGB Advisor.

COTRI research notes that for the period 13Q3 to 14Q2 the average YoY growth rate of border crossings from Mainland China was 17.8 percent, according to official Chinese statistics. COTRI forecats a similar growth rate of 18 percent for the following twelve month period.

This will bring the absolute number of border crossings from 106.3 million in 13H2 to 14H1 to 125.4 million in the year including 14H2 and 15H1. Almost half of this growth will benefit arrivals in destinations with a current market share of less than 1 percent. Spend on international tourism will grow at a similar speed.

"Despite the insecurity of the global situation, the ongoing anti-corruption campaign, and the still difficult relations between China and many of the surrounding countries, China‘s outbound tourism is continuing to grow at a steady pace, with more and more Chinese spreading out all over the planet, discovering destinations and travel forms more diverse than ever," Prof. Wolfgang notes.