The Spring Festival holiday is coming to an end, and outbound travel will reap the first report card of the Year of the Dragon. According to data from a number of travel platforms, the recovery of outbound travel during the Spring Festival holiday this year has accelerated significantly, and the number of bookings has hit a peak in the past four years. Among them, under the favorable visa-free policy, the Singapore-Malaysia-Thailand region is still playing a leading role in short-distance outbound travel, and the number of travel orders has increased by more than 30% compared with 2019. The increase in the length of holidays has also significantly lengthened the distance of outbound travel, and popular destinations are expanding from "4-hour flight circles" to "12-hour flight circles". While the popularity of traditional tourist destinations is booming, niche destinations are also on the rise. However, for tourism businesses, how to continue to recover their outbound travel business after the holiday is also the next step to consider.
The new Matai sings the leading role
Before the Chinese New Year holiday, visa-free policies in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand were implemented one after another. The attraction of visa-free travel has made Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand the protagonist of this short outbound trip during the Spring Festival holiday.
The popularity is first reflected in the flight tickets. Qunar data shows that the number of air tickets departing to Singapore during the Spring Festival on its platform increased by 29 times year-on-year in 2023, Kuala Lumpur increased by 20 times year-on-year, and Bangkok increased by 16 times year-on-year. In addition, according to the data of Flight Steward, from February 8 to 17, Southeast Asia has always ranked first, accounting for more than 42.
In terms of travel orders, the results of New Malaysia and Thailand are also very impressive. According to Ctrip data, travel orders from visa-free countries such as Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia have increased by more than 30% compared with 2019. On the whole, during the Spring Festival holiday, the top ten popular destination countries for outbound travel are Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, South Korea, the United States, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the United Arab Emirates, with Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand all on the top five.
Li Mengran, media and public relations manager of Zhongxin Tourism Group, told reporters that during the Spring Festival, the reception situation of Zhongxin Tourism in Southeast Asia destinations was basically full, and the overall product received nearly 100 customers. Among them, Singapore occupies the top of the consultation list, followed by Thailand and Malaysia.
Li Mengran also said that the popularity of the Southeast Asian market will continue after the Spring Festival, and the Southeast Asian market of Zhongxin Tourism has entered the product sales stage in March.
In addition to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, Ctrip data shows that short-haul outbound destinations during the Spring Festival include Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, South Korea, etc., and all of these destinations have seen an increase in travel bookings compared to 2019.
The long holiday heats up the "12-hour flight circle".
The eight-day Chinese New Year holiday has also ignited Chinese tourists' desire for longer-distance destinations.
Fliggy's data shows that one of the significant features of this year's Spring Festival is the elongation of outbound travel distances, and the popular destinations for outbound travel are expanding from "4-hour flight circles" to "12-hour flight circles". Among them, popular destinations in Europe, the Americas, Australia and Africa have risen rapidly, and destinations such as New Zealand, Russia, France, the United States and Egypt have grown rapidly, with bookings increasing nearly 15 times year-on-year.
Specifically, on the Qunar platform, destinations such as Melbourne in Australia, London in the United Kingdom, Istanbul in Turkey, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Auckland in New Zealand, and Cairo in Egypt have become popular cities for outbound travel during the Spring Festival. Among them, the highest increase is in Dubai, which has increased by more than 10 times compared to the same period in 2023. Qunar data shows that the farthest ticket for this year's Spring Festival was from Singapore to New York on February 16, with a direct flight time of more than 18 hours.
The 8-day holiday also makes the tourism "special forces" more international. During the Spring Festival, the most "special forces" users of the Qunar platform went to 5 countries: Russia, Singapore, Japan, Thailand, and Malaysia; The people who have been on vacation for the longest time have spent a total of 31 days in Bangkok, Thailand, for the Spring Festival.
Yu Haibo, an associate professor at the School of Tourism and Service of Nankai University, said that the popularity of outbound tourism in the medium and long term is based on the gradual release of outbound travel demand by Chinese residents on the one hand, and on the other hand, the marginal benefits of this year's Spring Festival 8-day continuous long holiday are significant.
In addition, with the time succession of China's population structure, the folk customs of urban residents returning to their hometowns for the New Year are increasingly replaced by long-distance travel. Yu Haibo believes that with the passage of time, the new consumption habits of long-distance travel during the Spring Festival will continue to expand in the coming period.
Niche destinations are becoming more diverse
During the Spring Festival holiday, the overseas destinations of Chinese tourists have become more diverse and niche.
According to the statistics of the Qunar platform, during the Spring Festival holiday, Chinese tourists traveled to 125 countries around the world, including Ethiopia and Madagascar in Africa; Cuba and Uruguay in South America; Lithuania, Monaco, Malta and other countries in Europe. Its platform has covered 1,754 cities around the world, including more than 400 cities in Europe alone.
Ctrip's data shows that the popularity of the "Belt and Road" countries has grown significantly. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and the Maldives have higher growth rates, with higher growth than in 2019. Orders from long-distance countries such as the United Kingdom, Argentina, and Norway also increased significantly, exceeding that of 2019.
In Tromsø, Norway's northernmost city, Yuanzi, a tourist from China, said she met many Chinese tourists, especially when riding the cable car, and the entire box was Chinese. "I don't seem to have reached the North Pole, but I am still on the streets of Xidan. ”
It can also be seen from the overseas car rental data that more niche overseas destinations are entering the hearts of Chinese tourists. According to the data of rental cars, the fastest growing overseas destinations in 2023 include Tromsø in Norway, Hobart in Australia, Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Langkawi in Thailand, and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
In Yu Haibo's view, the diversification and niche of outbound travel destinations are consistent with the selection characteristics of domestic long-distance travel destinations, which fully shows that the characteristics of tourists' pursuit of local cultural experience, differentiated experience and in-depth travel have become the trend of the times.
And this is also related to the fact that the consumer group presents a certain solidification characteristic. Yu Haibo further explained that after the marketization of China's outbound tourism in the 21st century, high-income groups and families have frequently visited destinations such as Europe and New Zealand, and these groups continue to seek differentiated experiences throughout their lives, so niche destinations are becoming more and more popular. She said that in the future, the expansion of China's middle-income group will change this situation.
Merchants aim at middle-aged and elderly tourists after the holiday
The end of the Spring Festival holiday and the resumption of work and school will take away part of the popularity of outbound travel. In the face of the off-season after the peak season, what should tourism companies do to continue to promote the recovery of the outbound travel market?
Li Mengran said that in response to the needs of the staggered travel crowd in March, Zhongxin Tourism will be more subdivided, in addition to the original parent-child, leisure and vacation products, but also launched a series of "Younianhua" theme products for middle-aged and elderly tourists, to meet the travel needs of middle-aged and elderly tourists. This includes selecting the daytime regular flight schedule and rejecting red-eye flights; Double insurance coverage for tourists, etc.
Zhou Weihong, deputy general manager of Spring and Autumn Tourism, believes that before the arrival of the spring travel season in the real sense, digging deep into the scenic characteristics of the destination, making good use of resource advantages, and publicizing the travel characteristics of less people and comfortable experience at this stage have also become the direction to focus on.
Zhang Lingyun, a distinguished professor at Beijing Union University and editor-in-chief of the Tourism Journal, pointed out that there are many uncertain factors affecting outbound travel, such as exchange rates, and the decision-making cycle of outbound travel is long, so the proportion of tourists who did not travel during the Spring Festival holiday may be higher.
Yu Haibo suggested that tourism enterprises should put the provision of high-quality products in the first place, according to the characteristics of the tourism consumer market in recent years, the psychology and demand of tourists, and strive to improve the product supply capacity, develop more outbound tourism boutiques that reflect the cultural connotation and humanistic experience, and launch more customized tourism products, research and study integration products and interactive tourism projects according to the needs of different groups. (Guan Zichen, Niu Qingyan).