Since China has relaxed its COVID-19 classification policies (with effect January 8), the majority of Chinese travel buyers have indicated they expect the outbound travel market to recover within one year after it opens up.

This was revealed in the latest ITB China Travel Trends Report (TTR) 2022/2023 based on comprehensive surveys, featuring nearly 80 international destinations/travel suppliers, and over 160 buyer representatives from Chinese travel companies.

When asked in the buyer survey about their expectations regarding the recovery of China’s outbound travel market, over 65% of respondents felt that the Chinese outbound travel market was capable of bouncing back around a year after it opened up. A total of 32% felt that it could recover in just six months.

The ITB TTR is an annual publication prepared by the organisers of ITB China to provide the global travel and tourism industry with valuable information that will help strategists and decision-makers to adjust business operations by gaining first-hand insights into market trends in this fast-changing environment.

According to Skift Research, Chinese outbound tourism increased dramatically from 70 million border crossings in 2011 to 170 million in 2019.

Travel companies in China have struggled since 2020, however optimism about the long-term development of the travel industry has prevailed since the announcement about relaxed COVID-19 measures was made, according to the report.

“The practical implementation of these relaxations will prove extremely helpful to promote all-round exchanges, communication and co-operation between China and other countries once again, and serve as a very positive signal for China’s outbound tourism to resume in the very near future,” said David Axiotis, GM of Messe Berlin (Shanghai), the organiser of ITB China.

What do travellers want?

Like the rest of the world post-pandemic, the travel preferences and behaviours of Chinese travellers have evolved. The ITB TTR report highlights that Chinese travellers are expected to value the following three things most when choosing a destination:

•    Local safety and hygiene measures (69%)
•    Necessary public health measures to control virus outbreaks (69%) 
•    Pricing and promotion (64%)

In terms of offerings, Chinese buyers mentioned customised travel products as most popular (77%), followed by FIT products with attractive pricing (75%).

The greatest concerns shared by Chinese buyers are:

•    The stability of the international political environment
•    Pricing and capacity of international flights
•    The need for sufficient reception capacity of the travel supply end

News reports out of China have highlighted that enquiries for outbound travel and visa applications have surged, with Xu Xiaolei, Marketing Manager of China's CYTS Tours Holding Co, telling the Global Times that enquiries for travel visas have almost doubled in the past two weeks, and the hottest destinations are the Middle East, Europe, Australia and Africa.

The China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI) highlighted that destinations needed to prepare for the return of Chinese outbound tourists with better products and more niche markets.

“The preparation, the acquisition of knowledge and the adaptation of services need to be done now, before the wave arrives,” said Wolfgang Georg Arlt, COTRI CEO.