According to the latest Chinese tourism outbound tourism survey, Europe, Southeast Asia and North America have the greatest market potential in 2024; Chinese tourists pay more attention to product quality than price. Visa issues and product prices are the main challenges in selling outbound tourism products at present.
Sienna Parulis-Cook, director of marketing and communications at Longtu International, said that according to the 2023 Chinese tourism outbound tourism survey conducted by Longtu International from early June to early July this year, 101 Chinese outbound travel agencies surveyed believe that the outbound tourism destinations with the greatest market potential in 2024 are Europe, Southeast Asia and North America. In 2023, the most popular products are independent Tours, group Tours, and customized private Tours. At present, there are only 60 ADS destinations that Chinese citizens can visit with the group (less than half of the number before the epidemic), so the free travel products have naturally attracted more attention from the industry. Outbound groups are still relatively small, most of them between 11 and 20 people, followed by 1 to 10 people. Among the consumers who buy products from travel agencies, millennials are the main generation, most of which are post-90s and post-80s.
In terms of product characteristics, the industry believes that the most important elements of outbound travel products for Chinese customers include high quality/comfort, interesting destinations, unique experiences, etc., and low prices are ranked last. In terms of tourism themes, the most popular travel agency products in 2023 are, in order, islands and beaches, family Tours, nature, arts and culture, adventure and sports, and historical attractions.
For Chinese travel agents to cooperate with overseas agents, the most important demand is to communicate on offline activities, followed by online training and real-time seminars, and video resources. In addition, Chinese text materials are also very important.
In terms of the challenges of selling outbound travel products in the Chinese market in 2023, the visa issue is the most significant. Many tourists have to wait for months to apply for a foreign visa, and some have even had to cancel their booked trips because they did not get their visas in time.
Second is the price of outbound travel, especially air tickets. However, fares are expected to fall as capacity picks up. At present, Europe and the United States are the most expensive tourism products, with more than 40% of companies selling products in Europe or the Americas at an average price of 10,000 to 20,000 yuan per person, and more than one-third at more than 20,000 yuan. The tourism products in Southeast Asia and North Asia are mainly between 2,000 yuan and 10,000 yuan, and the products in Oceania and Central and East Africa are more average within the three price ranges of 2,000 to 5,000 yuan, 5,000 to 10,000 yuan, and 10,000 to 20,000 yuan.
Other challenges include language and the current situation overseas. In response to relevant problems, outbound travel product suppliers can provide tourists with the latest information of the visa center, information and advice about the visa application process, etc., to make the application process smoother for guests, and let guests know the public health situation of the destination and local medical resources, so as to dispel the doubts of potential tourists.
