Southeast Asia is still 'hungry' for Chinese tourists

Chinese tourists remain hesitant to spend money on overseas travel, hurting Southeast Asia's economic recovery.

Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore have all seen visitor numbers fall short of expectations as China's slow post-pandemic economic recovery has left people hesitant to travel internationally.

Thailand, one of the region’s most tourism-dependent economies, is benefiting from a post-pandemic recovery in tourism. But Chinese arrivals are expected to be at least two million fewer than the target of 7 million this year.

Chinese tourists visit Tibet in July. As the economy recovers slowly, people are more hesitant to spend money on international travel. Photo: Xinhua — Chinese tourists visit Tibet in July. As the economy recovers slowly, people are more hesitant to spend money on international travel. Photo: *Xinhua*

According to securities brokerage PT Bahana Sekuritas, Bali, where most international visitors to Indonesia visit, room bookings at luxury hotels in the first five months of the year decreased due to the lack of Chinese visitors.

Singapore, which has seen a tourism boom, also saw disappointing numbers. The number of Chinese visitors in the first five months of the year reached more than 310,000, a fifth of the 1.55 million in the same period in 2019, according to data from the country's Tourism Board.

It’s not just Southeast Asia, Japan is also witnessing the same thing. However, this Northeast Asian country is seeing a new group of shoppers replacing visitors from the mainland.

Retail giant Takashimaya said non-Chinese tourists accounted for nearly 70% of total tourist revenue from March to May, more than three times the pre-pandemic level. This trend could prompt some countries in the region to consider diversifying their target markets, especially those that rely on Chinese visitors to boost tourism revenue.

Qiu, an employee at a travel agency based in Guangzhou, China, confirmed that summer tours to Southeast Asia “have not improved significantly.” The most popular destinations such as Singapore and Malaysia are only at 30% of pre-pandemic levels, while Thailand is at 10%.

China’s slow flight capacity growth is also a drag on the tourism industry’s recovery. A lack of group travel is also contributing to the slowdown, according to Bloomberg’s Eric Zhu. Only 1.6% of Chinese people went on outbound tours in the first quarter, down from 30% in the same period in 2019, according to the country’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

However, industry observers remain optimistic about the Chinese market. The Singapore Tourism Board still "expects continued growth in Chinese arrivals."

"China has just reopened. I hope that Chinese tourist arrivals will improve in the second half of this year," said Selena Ling, chief economist at OCBC Bank.

Anh Minh (According to SCMP )

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