original title:
Statistics show that at present, almost half of Chinese outbound tourists go to Thailand
Beijing Daily reporter Bai Bo
Before the epidemic, China had been the world‘s largest outbound travel market for many years in a row. In 2019, the number of Chinese residents going abroad reached 169 million, ranking first in the world; residents’ international tourism expenditure accounted for nearly one-fifth of the total global tourism expenditure.
China’s restart of outbound tourism has encouraged global tourism operators who have been severely affected by the epidemic in the past three years. Many countries expect the “return” of Chinese tourists to boost the development of their tourism industry and promote the recovery of the world economy after the epidemic.
At 12:17 on January 9, local time in Bangkok, Xiamen Airlines flight MF833 carrying 269 passengers landed at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok. This is the first group of Chinese tourists to Thailand after the implementation of the “Class B and B Control” for new crown virus infection.
“Welcome to Thailand!” Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Anutin, Minister of Transport Sasayan, and Minister of Tourism and Sports Pippa formed a “powerful lineup” to extend a warm welcome to the Chinese tourists who have just landed at the airport. Give exquisite small gifts to Chinese friends who have not seen for a long time.
Eagerly awaiting the “return” of Chinese tourists
From 00:00 on January 8, my country’s policies such as canceling entry nucleic acid testing and centralized isolation, and optimizing personnel exchanges between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao have officially come into effect. Outbound travel has resumed in an orderly manner after nearly three years of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to agency data, the number of inbound and outbound air ticket orders for travel on January 8 increased by 628% year-on-year, setting a record since March 2020. Thailand, rich in tourism resources, is one of the top destinations for Chinese tourists traveling abroad. According to agency statistics, almost half of Chinese outbound tourists go to Thailand.
Thailand is looking forward to the “return” of Chinese tourists. In 2019 before the epidemic, more than 10 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand, accounting for a quarter of the total number of foreign tourists who entered Thailand that year. Before going to the airport to welcome Chinese tourists, Anutin publicly issued a statement saying that Thailand will treat immigrants from all countries equally and will not take special epidemic prevention measures for immigrants from a certain country.
Pan Kenan of the Beijing Office of the National Tourism Administration of Thailand told our reporter that after the announcement of China’s imminent adjustment of entry-exit policies, the tourism industry in Thailand cheered, and it is believed that tourism to Thailand will show explosive growth in the future. In the past three years of the epidemic, investment in Thailand’s tourism industry has not stopped. Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and other places have built many new hotels, theme parks and entertainment facilities to prepare for the “return” of tourists from all over the world.
In addition to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and other countries have also become the fastest-growing tourist destinations in the search volume of Chinese people.
“We are actively discussing with the domestic federal states to welcome Chinese tourists back to Austria.” Reiner, head of the Asia-Pacific region of the Austrian National Tourism Administration and Austrian Tourism Counselor, told our reporter that after the successful hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics, more and more More and more people are beginning to pay attention to Austrian winter tourism products. “Innsbruck has hosted the Winter Olympics twice, and Austria is a winter sports paradise, accounting for more than 50% of the European winter sports market. We sincerely welcome Chinese tourists to Austria to spend their winter holidays.”
“Chinese tourists play big role in economic recovery”
According to data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the global tourism industry will lose US$2 trillion in 2020 and 2021 due to the new crown epidemic. Countries with tourism as an important pillar, such as Thailand and Spain, suffered particularly heavy losses.
The strong influence of Chinese tourists on the world tourism market is an important reason why countries are looking forward to China’s restart of outbound tourism.
According to the China Tourism Research Institute’s “China Outbound Tourism Development Report 2020”, the total consumption of my country’s outbound tourism in 2019 exceeded US$133.8 billion, and the per capita consumption reached US$863.23. According to statistics from the French Tourism Office, Chinese tourists brought about 3.5 billion euros in revenue in 2019, accounting for 7% of France’s overall tourism revenue. According to New Zealand tourism industry, China is the second largest source of tourists after Australia. The per capita consumption of Chinese tourists in New Zealand is about US$3,070, which is a relatively high level. China is Japan’s largest source of overseas tourists. Japanese tourism operators have bluntly stated to the Chinese media, “We want Chinese tourists most” and “the inbound tourism market without Chinese tourists has only recovered to less than half.”
“Sri Lanka has fully opened to tourists. The tourism industry will play a key role in economic recovery, and Chinese tourists will play an important role.” Sri Lankan Ambassador to China Palita Kohona told our reporter. In 2022, Sri Lanka will encounter an economic crisis. In the same year, the Sri Lankan embassy in China made great efforts to attract Chinese tourists. Under the auspices of Palita Kohona, the embassy has continuously held activities, opened social media accounts, and cooperated with China Travel Agency to promote Sri Lanka to the Chinese people.
Last month, my country announced the opening of Saudi Arabia as a destination country for citizens to organize outbound tourism. Saudi Arabia is planning to invest 1.5 trillion US dollars within 10 years to build it into one of the top ten tourist destinations in the world. Industry insiders expect that Saudi Arabia will launch more tourism service products targeting Chinese tourists.
Resume tourism exchanges and cooperation to enhance people-to-people bonds
In 2023, China and Pakistan will host the “China-Pakistan Tourism Exchange Year”. Aftab Ur Rahman Rana, General Manager of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation, said that the friendship between Pakistan and China has a long history, and the people of the two countries are looking forward to seeing each other and experiencing each other’s customs. The “Pakistan-China Tourism Exchange Year” will further promote tourism exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, and enhance people-to-people bonds between the two countries.
International tourism plays an irreplaceable role in enhancing mutual understanding among people from different countries. In the past three years, the isolation of the new crown epidemic has also invisibly widened the psychological distance between people of various countries. Akio Takahara, a professor at the University of Tokyo in Japan, said that after the outbreak, nearly 10 million Chinese tourists were unable to travel to Japan every year, which is a direct factor affecting the Chinese people’s positive perception of Japan.
Argentina in South America is on the antipodal point of China, and it is the country with the farthest geographical distance from each other. Niu Wangdao, Argentine ambassador to China, said that China’s adjustment of entry and exit policies is very important to the entire Latin American region. It will not only revive the tourism industry, but also increase the frequency of business travel and official visits.
Niu Wangdao revealed that the number of Chinese people consulting with the embassy and applying for visas to Argentina has continued to increase recently, and the Chinese people are more and more fond of Argentina. In 2023, the work of international students and cultural exchanges between the two countries is expected to be further strengthened. Argentina will continue to promote the establishment of direct flights with China, increase the speed of visa issuance, and attract more Chinese tourists.
interview
Dai Bin, President of China Tourism Academy:
The recovery of China’s outbound tourism market will greatly promote the recovery process of the global tourism industry
Beijing Daily reporter Wu Na
After the adjustment of the new crown virus infection from “Class B A control” to “B class B control” and the official implementation of the new regulations on the exchange of Chinese and foreign personnel on January 8, the enthusiasm of Chinese citizens for domestic travel and outbound travel has been ignited. Searches for domestic and international air tickets and hotels surged.
In an exclusive interview with our reporter, Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, said that affected by the recovery of domestic tourism, this year’s Spring Festival is expected to hit a new high in the tourism market for the same period in the past three years. The orderly recovery of China’s outbound tourism market will inject strong confidence into the prosperity and development of China’s tourism market, and will also greatly promote the recovery process of the global tourism industry.
Outbound tourism will be gradually opened in an orderly manner
Reporter: How do you evaluate the performance of the domestic tourism market on New Year’s Day? After policy adjustment, what is the trend of inbound and outbound tourism?
Dai Bin: The performance of the domestic tourism market on New Year’s Day can be summarized into three points: first, it is generally in line with expectations; second, tourists’ consumption psychology is changing from cautious to positive; third, from a structural point of view, young people and medium and long-distance tourism are leading recovery of the tourism market.
Judging from the data of the New Year’s Day holiday tourism market in 2023, there were 52.1734 million domestic tourism trips nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 0.44%. I noticed two interesting data. National tourism revenue during the New Year’s Day holiday was 26.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4%, which means that tourists spend more money. In addition, the travel radius of tourists is 151.6 kilometers, a year-on-year increase of 37%, which means that tourists have traveled farther. More leading indicators show that all indicators related to tourism, such as travel willingness, consumption expectations, industrial prosperity, and entrepreneurial confidence, are correcting in a positive direction.
In my opinion, domestic tourism will take priority over the recovery of inbound and outbound tourism. This year’s Spring Festival will be the best result in the past three years.
The recovery of inbound and outbound tourism needs to consider more factors. After the policy adjustment, why didn’t the policy effect of inbound and outbound tourism appear immediately like that of domestic tourism? From the perspective of tourism organization, inbound and outbound tourism includes individual tourists and groups. The market size, flow direction and flow speed of outbound tourism depend on the policy coordination of the departments of diplomacy, visa, port, immigration, foreign exchange and tourism. The resumption of group tour business and air ticket plus hotel business organized by travel agencies requires special permission and a special policy needs to be issued, and it is still in a suspended state.
The biggest difference between inbound and outbound tourism, especially outbound tourism and domestic tourism, is the travel documents. In the past three years, many travel documents have expired or “sleeped”. Now it takes a certain time to process and issue documents, especially in some countries. Taking a cautious and open attitude towards China, there is a wait-and-see period and preparation period in the international tourism market. In addition, it takes longer to make decisions on outbound travel than domestic travel, and it may take half a month or even longer in advance.
It is expected that after the Spring Festival, outbound travel will be gradually and orderly opened, and relevant laws, policies, supply chains, and preparations for travel documents, ports, immigration, and border defense will be in place one after another.
Many countries pay attention to the dynamics of China’s outbound tourism market
Reporter: As the largest outbound tourism market in the world, what role will the recovery of China’s outbound tourism play in the recovery of the global tourism market?
Dai Bin: China is the largest outbound tourism market in the world in 2019. The three-year stagnation is a huge loss to the global tourism market, so now all countries and regions are paying attention to the recovery and development of China’s outbound tourism market.
Today’s world and China need and depend on each other. After the opening of outbound tourism, on the one hand, it will allow our outbound tourism companies to have business, and on the other hand, it will also allow our citizens to go out and have a look, and resume exchanges with nationals of other countries.
After the recovery of the outbound tourism market, strong confidence will be injected into the development and prosperity of the Chinese tourism market, which will bring huge consumption power to the world tourism economy, and will also greatly promote the recovery process of the global tourism industry.
We judge that outbound tourism may first start from surrounding areas such as Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines, and the surrounding markets will account for the mainstream of outbound tourism. In addition, this year’s winter and summer holiday seaside and island tourist destinations will be the first to recover.
The tourism market may undergo fundamental changes
Reporter: During the three years of the epidemic, the tourism industry is one of the hardest hit industries. In your opinion, with the recovery of the tourism market, what adjustments and efforts do all parties need to make?
Dai Bin: In the past three years, due to the shrinkage of the tourism market and the sharp decline in consumption, the entire tourism economy has faced the most severe challenge and the longest period of depression. From the perspective of the specific industrial structure, travel agencies are the first to bear the brunt, followed by scenic spots, and hotels third.
With the transmission of policy effects from demand to supply, more and more tourism operators and investment institutions will increase their confidence in recovery and begin preparations for a full-scale resumption of operations such as personnel recalls, product development, and supply chain restructuring.
It should be pointed out that market recovery does not mean going back to the past, and the impact of the epidemic on tourism preferences will profoundly change tourism investment methods and supply behavior. After this epidemic, the tourism industry will no longer return to the stage where “there are thousands of people eating dividends, and thousands of mountains and rivers give away tickets”. Today’s reverse tourism, exhibition-style social networking, and even more and more trendy tourism favored by young people, this is a change in consumer demand for the tourism industry, which has brought a fundamental subversion to the tourism market, which also requires For us, tourism consumption may have to move from a large-scale, standardized operation method to a focused, systematic, and high-quality production method and service model.
close up
Long time no see my old friend!
Beijing Daily reporter Bai Bo
After the adjustment of the epidemic prevention policy, Chinese tourists went abroad, providing a strong impetus for the recovery of the global tourism industry.
“My journey was very smooth and smooth. I left the country from Beijing, entered France in Paris, and entered the United States in San Francisco. I didn’t encounter any obstacles.” Mr. Zhang embarked on this journey in mid-to-late December last year. A heart-stopping journey. In an interview yesterday, he told our reporter that when he left Paris two days ago, he heard at the airport that he might not be able to enter the United States without an English vaccination certificate, but he passed it smoothly in San Francisco.
On his first visit to Paris, Mr. Zhang visited famous attractions such as the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Opera House, the Pantheon, the Place de la Concorde and the Champs Elysees with great interest. He found that even in the tourist season at the end of the year, some duty-free shops on the street are still closed, “probably because there have been too few Chinese tourists in recent years, resulting in no business.”
Under the Eiffel Tower, in front of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, under the Arc de Triomphe… Mr. Zhang saw many Chinese tourists taking pictures. Chinese tourists lined up in the queues at the Louis Vuitton (LV) store on the Champs-Elysées, a sign of strong spending power.
China is the world‘s largest outbound travel market, with 169 million outbound trips in 2019. Among them, 2.2 million Chinese traveled to France in 2019, bringing France 3.5 billion euros in tourism revenue, accounting for 7% of the total tourism revenue. In the same year, 9.594 million mainland Chinese tourists visited Japan, accounting for more than 30% of all foreigners visiting Japan, and their consumption accounted for 36.8%.
Xu Ying, the women’s world champion of Go and an associate professor at Shenzhen University, took off from Hong Kong early in the morning on January 8, and did not check into a hotel in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan until 7 pm local time. “I queued for three hours at the airport. I have never queued for such a long time in Japan.” Xu Ying told this reporter that the staff at Sapporo New Chitose Airport are very meticulous in their service, and 80% of them speak Mandarin or The Cantonese-speaking passenger team, they politely inquire and remind patiently, so that the entry of passengers is carried out in an orderly manner.
After noon on January 9, Xu Ying took her son by train to Otaru, a coastal city near Sapporo. The two “wandered around” without a plan, and walked into a seafood market. After having eaten seafood for lunch, they couldn’t help but eat another meal. After coming out of the restaurant, there was snow in the sky, “I haven’t seen such a heavy snow in many years! I’m so happy!” Xu Ying said excitedly.
In Hokkaido, Xu Ying can also clearly feel that tourists from China are the most around her. When in contact with Japanese service staff known for their politeness and thoughtfulness, when they heard that they spoke Mandarin and could not speak Japanese, the attitude of the other party seemed to be more enthusiastic than in the golden age of the tourism industry before the epidemic. ‘old friend’ feeling.”
It has been three years since we “separated” from Chinese tourists, but the staff in Paris restaurants can still greet them with simple Chinese greetings such as “Nihao” and “Thank you”, which also allows Chinese tourists to taste the flavors of Portugal, Belgium, Italy and other countries. At the same time, I have a bit of a home away from home experience. Mr. Zhang said that it can be seen that the French welcome the “return” of Chinese tourists, and local tourism operators and luxury salespeople are undoubtedly the most excited group.
“In the past three years, their business has been very poor. Some people even closed the company and changed their careers. LV sales are especially enthusiastic when they meet Chinese tourists. When I was shopping for bags on Saint-Germain Avenue, I met many customers who spoke Mandarin. , the sales staff will patiently receive them. If they are not in stock, they will be recommended to buy them in stores that have them.” Mr. Zhang said.
The international tourism market is still recovering. Mr. Zhang said that the current time is a good time to travel abroad. The number of tourists is not much compared to before the epidemic, but there is already a lively atmosphere, and it will not affect the experience of playing.