Seniors in their 50s have become the major force in personal tourism consumption in China, with over 23.9% of them reporting personal tourism expenditure exceeding RMB 5,000 (USD 772.7) last year, a recent survey said.

According to a green book on China's tourism development analysis and forecast in 2020 to 2021, jointly released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Social Sciences Academic Press on April 28, Chinese people born in the 1960s spent the most in personal tourism, while those born in the 1980s are the main consumers in family tourism, chinanews.com reported on Wednesday.

Data from a nationwide online survey showed that more than 23.9% of Chinese people born in the 1960s spent more than RMB 5,000 last year in personal tourism, while the data for people born in the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s are 20.8%, 23.8%, 19.4%, and 7.9%, respectively.

It said 17.3% of people born in the 1960s spent more than RMB 8,000 in 2020, with 10.8%, 5.8%, and 3.3% of people in the same age group spent more than RMB 10,000, RMB 20,000, and RMB 40,000 on personal tourism last year.

Compared with other age groups, people born in the 1960s, or in their 50s, have more wealth and leisure time, makes them the main force of personal tourism, the report said.

People born in the 1980s spent the most in family tourism, as more than 46% of survey participants of this age group spent more than RMB 5,000 in family travel in 2020, and 23.9% of them spent more than RMB 10,000 last year, according to the report.