In contrast, capacity to the Americas in Q2 is set to recover only 10% of pre-pandemic seats. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/Markus Mainka
The lure of Asian destinations such as Thailand, Japan and South
Korea is boosting the number of Chinese people travelling abroad.
This is according to travel analytics provider ForwardKeys, which
said that outbound China travel will grow in Q2 as a greater number of
airline seats connect Chinese travellers to the world. The APAC region
currently holds the largest share at 81%, with a recovery rate of 43% in
Q2. Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan are the best-connected
destinations with China.
Survey results released earlier this month from marketing solutions
provider Dragon Trail International, which asked 1,012 mainland Chinese
travellers about their plans and preferences for outbound travel,
revealed that Hong Kong remained the top choice for mainland Chinese
travellers in 2023, followed by Macau.
Looking beyond Greater China, Thailand is the destination most
Chinese travellers said they plan to visit in 2023, followed by Japan
and South Korea. For long-haul destinations, France and Australia
emerged as top choices.
“Even though travel restrictions in Japan and South Korea received a
lot of attention in January, these destinations are still very
attractive to Chinese tourists,” said Yelinuer Kadeerbieke, market
research analyst for Dragon Trail.
With regards to seat capacity for Chinese outbound travel, Africa and
the Middle East are set to increase the most, with 75% in Q2, although
the market share is small, as only 6% of total international capacity is
from China. The United Arab Emirates is the most well-connected
destination in its region, with a 44% share.
Capacity to the Americas in Q2 is set to recover only 10% of
pre-pandemic seats. While the United States is a major destination, many
airlines have yet to restore their capacity in the China-US market.