Chinese people traveling abroad during Tet holiday reaches 4-year high

The 8-day Lunar New Year holiday in China in 2024 has ended. Data from many Chinese travel platforms shows that the Year of the Dragon has become the busiest travel holiday in the country's history. The number of travel bookings in China has far exceeded 2019, with medium and long-term trips increasing more than 3 times compared to the same period last year. Chinese people traveling abroad also reached a 4-year high, with the number of bookings increasing nearly 10 times compared to the same period last year.

Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, the three latest countries to waive visas for Chinese citizens, have seen a sharp increase in Chinese tourists. On the Qunar platform, flight bookings from China to Singapore during the Lunar New Year period increased 29 times compared to the same period last year, Kuala Lumpur increased 20 times and Bangkok increased 16 times.

nguoi trung quoc ra nuoc ngoai du lich dip tet dat muc cao nhat trong 4 nam hinh anh 1 — Tourists watch an art performance in Luoyang City, Henan Province, China on February 14. Photo: Xinhua

According to statistics from this platform, this year's Lunar New Year, Chinese tourists visited 1,754 cities in 125 countries around the world ; international hotel bookings increased 4.7 times, and international air ticket bookings increased 14 times compared to the same period last year.

Another characteristic of overseas travel during the Spring Festival this year is that the distance traveled by Chinese people has become longer. Data from Fliggy, a famous online travel platform in the country, shows that destinations such as New Zealand, Russia, France, the United States and Egypt have increased sharply, with bookings increasing nearly 15 times compared to the same period last year. Hot destinations have expanded from "4-hour flight loop" to "12-hour flight loop". According to Fliggy, during this year's Spring Festival holiday, the number of Chinese tourists traveling abroad has reached a four-year high, with bookings increasing nearly 10 times compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, according to calculations by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism data center, there were about 3.23 million tourists entering China during the eight days of the Spring Festival holiday. Ctrip data shows that the country's inbound tourism increased by 48% compared to 2019.

From the perspective of tourism products, the number of foreign tourists buying tickets to scenic spots in China during the Spring Festival increased more than 10 times compared to 2019. The main sources of visitors came from countries such as Japan, the US, South Korea, Australia, the UK, Malaysia, Vietnam, Canada, Thailand and Germany.

Statistics from China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) show that China's border control agencies recorded about 13.52 million arrivals during the Lunar New Year holiday that ended on February 17, up 2.8 times from a year ago and recovering to about 85.4% compared to the same period in 2019.

Ctrip platform report said that since the Lunar New Year 2024, outbound tourism is expected to recover rapidly in China.

The report “Analysis of China's tourism economic performance in 2023 and development forecast for 2024” released by the China Tourism Research Institute also forecasts that in 2024, the number of domestic tourists will exceed 6 billion, with revenue reaching about 6 trillion yuan (more than 830 billion USD), and the number of inbound and outbound tourists will exceed 264 million, with revenue reaching about 107 billion USD.

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