Chinese tourists’ choice of travel destination is increasingly diversified, as the country’s national economy grows and living standard improves, and they have become sought-for visitors due to the population size and strong purchasing power, the US-China Press reported.
Mainland Chinese tourists to the United States increased by 15% last year
In the statement released by the United States Department of Commerce on 11th August, the US received 75.6 million overseas visitors in 2016 visiting on business, medical, education and entertainment purposes, and the total visitor expenditure topped USD 244.7 billion.
The number of visitors from mainland China in US grew by 15% to 3 million during the year, while total expenditure increased by 9% to USD 33 billion. China was one of the top 10 overseas source markets for the US, along with Mexico, India and South Korea, that showed increase in both visitor arrivals and expenditure.
Overseas consumption of Chinese tourists doubled that of the United States
According to UNWTO, the overseas expenditure of Chinese tourists last year rose much faster than other countries’, by 12% YOY to USD 261 billion.
UNWTO also indicated that the spending of Chinese tourist grew in double-digit for the 13th consecutive year, and China also maintained its position as the world's largest outbound consumer for the 5th consecutive year, ahead of the United States, Germany, the UK and France. In 2016, the overseas consumption of Chinese tourists was more than twice that of the United States.
Chinese tourists show strongest buying power globally
Chinese tourists’ choice of destination is becoming more diversified as the national economy expands and living standard improves. The large population base and the strong consumption power also makes Chinese tourists sought-for visitors.
In 2015, the number of outbound tourists from mainland China increased by 9.4% to 128 million, which is almost the size of Japan’s population. Within a decade, China’s outbound visitor traffic had increased 312.9% since 2005.
According to UNWTO data, the number of international travelers in 2015 totaled 1.19 billion, more than 10% of which were from mainland China, which put China firmly in a leading position as a tourism power.
Other than fueling global tourism in terms of outbound statistics, China is also leading in tourism expenditure, as the spending of mainland Chinese tourists accounted for 20.9% of global tourism expenditure in 2016.
