A surge in Chinese outbound tourism during the extended Lunar New Year holiday is highlighting a sharp shift in destination choices, with former favourite Japan seeing a marked drop in visitors. Mainlanders on the move have turned instead to Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Australia and Russia, multiple media outlets report.
The Spring Festival – as the Lunar New Year is also known – began on 15 February and is expected to generate a record 9.5 billion passenger trips during a 40-day travel rush. According to tourism industry insiders, Thailand has re-emerged as Chinese travellers’ top destination – appearing to have bounced back from doldrums caused by a border conflict and its connections to cyber-scam centres known for human trafficking, which last year sparked kidnapping concerns in China. The Southeast Asian nation’s balmy beaches and tropical islands were cited as key attractions, with much of China still experiencing winter weather.
Meanwhile, Chinese travel to Japan during the holiday period is expected to fall by up to 60 percent compared with last year, following Beijing’s repeated calls for citizens to reconsider plans to visit. The downturn follows remarks made in November by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggesting Japan could intervene militarily in the event of a conflict over Taiwan, interpreted by Beijing as a challenge to its goal of reunifying with the island under the One China policy.
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Travel experts say bookings to nearby countries in Southeast Asia and to South Korea all climbed during the holiday period, while long-haul destinations have experienced particularly strong growth.
According to Travel and Tour World, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea were Thailand’s top competitors for Chinese travellers looking to leave China this Lunar New Year. Vietnam actually overtook Thailand as their top destination in the region last year, with Chinese passport holders accounting for a quarter of foreign arrivals.
Speaking to the increasing popularity of travel beyond Asia for the holiday, Zhou Weihong of Shanghai-based Spring Tour said bookings to Northern Europe and Russia via his platform had more than doubled year-on-year. Russia scrapped visa requirements for Chinese visitors last December, helping fuel this demand. According to Trip.com data, flight bookings to Australia were also up by more than 100 percent.
