Tourism outside Greater China sees double digit growth

Thursday 18th of August 2016

Outbound border crossings made from Mainland China to destinations outside Greater China saw a 12.5 percent year-on-year increase in 16Q2, compared to the prior year period, says China’s tourism research institute.

According to the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI), there were only 15.8 million arrivals in the Greater China region from Mainland China in 16Q2, down 3.7 percent year-on-year.

However, while there was a decrease of overall arrivals in the three Greater China destinations (Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau), the latter gaming destination saw a modest year-on-year growth of 0.9 percent in 16Q2.

Regarding long-haul destinations, COTRI research reveals a more mixed picture. Amidst security concerns following a number of high-profile terror attacks over the past year, Europe has seen sluggish growth in Chinese arrivals, with some destinations even reporting lower numbers of Chinese tourists than in 15Q2. This trend, however, has been counterbalanced by alternative destinations such as New Zealand, Australia and the United States, which saw year-on-year arrival growth figures of 26.5, 22.6 and 17 percent respectively.

“It is therefore apparent that security concerns are continuing to impact Chinese tourists’ destination choices,” said COTRI.

“Nevertheless, the ongoing overall growth in Chinese outbound tourism, especially beyond the Greater China region, suggests that their desire to travel overseas is not being negatively affected,” it added.

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