Outbound Chinese Travel Preferences Shift to Singapore, Europe and South Korea
Skift Take
- Chinese tourists are showing decreased interest in Japan and Thailand, partly due to Japan's Fukushima wastewater release and negative perceptions from movies about Thailand. Consequently, Singapore, Europe, South Korea, Malaysia, and Australia have become more popular destinations.
- M Social opens its first hotel in Suzhou, China, and Indian Hotels Company plans to expand its Ginger brand across India. Other developments include the opening of the Ramada Encore by Wyndham in Amritsar, India, and new properties in Goa and Hong Kong under different brands.
- Sun Siyam Pasikudah in Sri Lanka reopens after renovations, and Berjaya Land Bhd secures a loan for developing the Four Seasons Resort in Okinawa, Japan.
China Trading Desk’s most recent Travel Sentiment Survey said Japan and Thailand have lost significant appeal to Chinese considering their next vacations. China Trading Desk polls 10,000 Chinese quarterly about their overseas travel plans. It found that Japan fell from the most popular destination in the second quarter this year to the 8th most popular. Thailand began this year as Chinese tourists’ most popular destination but it fell to 6th place in the third quarter. China Trading Desk said Japan’s recent release of Fukushima’s treated radioactive wastewater into the ocean has affected how Chinese think of traveling there. They blamed the Chinese losing their enthusiasm for Thailand on two movies – No More Bets and Lost in the Stars. After the survey was completed at the end of September, the mall shooting in Bangkok that killed a Chinese tourist occurred. They believe that is accentuating Chinese fears of travel to Thailand. Singapore, Europe and South Korea have benefited from the change in Chinese tourist sentiment becoming the first, second and third most popular destinations in the third quarter with Malaysia and Australia rounding out the top five. The U.S. and Middle East are the two least popular.
The Japan National Tourism Organization said Japan saw a significant surge in visitors, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, a complete rebound in arrivals since the easing of b
