TripAdvisor and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm, jointly published a new report on the travel and tourism industry titled, Winning the Next Billion Asian Travellers – Starting with China. The report showed that by 2030, more than 50% of the growth in global traffic will come from Asia Pacific and 49% of all passenger traffic globally will be within Asia Pacific or between the region and the rest of the world.

Travellers from China will account for the lion’s share of this growth—accounting for around 40% of Asian outbound travellers by 2030. Within the same time frame, China will likely overtake the US as the world’s largest domestic travel market.

Specifically, by 2030, Chinese urban travellers will take 1.7 billion domestic and outbound trips annually, up from 500 million today, spending $1.8 trillion on travel and tourism—nearly seven times their current expenditures. The report shows that China’s outbound leisure market will grow the fastest, with its travel and tourism spending increasing by 15% year-on-year between now and 2030.

TripAdvisor revealed several important insights into the future growth direction of China’s outbound tourism market, including destinations that Chinese travellers are investigating, the cities they come from, factors that motivate their travel choices, and how businesses can better cater to their needs and preferences.

Growing Chinese Interest in Long-Haul and Exotic Destinations 

According to data from TripAdvisor’s official site in China, daodao.com, the number of unique visitors in July and August 2013 who researched outbound destinations has increased by more than 250% (excluding Hong Kong and Macau), compared to the same period the year before. Of those who researched outbound destinations in that time, 56% researched destinations in Asia while 44% researched destination outside of the region, with Paris, Rome, London and New York amongst the most frequently researched destinations.  

Similarly, a BCG 2013 survey showed that a growing number of young affluent Chinese travellers were interested in longer-haul trips. While just 20% of the most popular destinations for the past three years were long-haul trips (to the US and France), 80% of the most desired destinations for intended travel over the next five to 10 years are outside of Asia. The top “dream” destinations include, the Maldives, US, France, Australia, Greece, the UK, New Zealand, and Italy. While sightseeing, relaxing, and shopping are popular activities amongst Chinese travellers, outdoor and adventure trips are emerging as a new trend, providing opportunities for countries such as New Zealand and Australia to increase their share of Chinese visitors. 

Middle Class Segment in Smaller Cities Offers Biggest Growth Opportunities 

Well-known “super tier 1” cities, which all have populations of more than 10 million, like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, are all highly competitive environments. The TripAdvisor-BCG report revealed that more than 80% of China’s middle-income and affluent consumers (MAC) and potential spenders live in smaller cities outside of China’s major metropolises.

According to 2013 data from daodao.com, more than 70% of unique site visitors researching outbound destinations lived outside the four “super tier 1” cities, and online traffic from these visitors is growing two to three times faster than that of visitors from the “super tier 1” cities. The report also showed that businesses that reach beyond China’s “super tier 1” cities may have to further adapt their services as well as marketing and distribution models, but they also have a better chance of gaining a first-mover advantage.  

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