The number of outbound trips has reached 130 million in 2017, up 7.0% from 122 million in 2016.
SHANGHAI – Ctrip, the largest online travel agent in Asia and the second largest in the world released the “2017 China Outbound Tourism Travel Report” alongside China Tourism Academy (CTA), a specialized institute under China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).
The number of outbound trips has reached 130 million in 2017, up 7.0% from 122 million in 2016. An estimated 115.29 billion USD was spent during 2017, a year-on-year increase of 5%. Chinese travelers are becoming increasingly focused on their well-being and the purpose for making outbound trips has changed from sightseeing and shopping to enjoying high-quality services. According to Ctrip statistics, Ctrip’s tailor-made travel and local guide platform has served millions of tourists in 2017. Such personalized trips designed by Ctrip travel planners are becoming a popular option for Chinese travelers.
Chinese travelers have greater demand for assistance throughout their trip and are more focused on safety. Ctrip’s “Global SOS” service provides 24/7 emergency responses and support for our ever growing travelers. 2017 saw a total of 2191 SOS cases from which 82% were for outbound travel. With a 94% success rate, it has since been widely accepted by our users.
In terms of outbound travelers, Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou and Wenzhou spent the most. Lesser well-known cities are seeing huge growth in outbound tourist numbers. Chengdu surprisingly overtook Guangzhou and Shenzhen and ranked third in the number of outbound tourists with other cities such as Changsha (up 200% increase) and Xi’an (up 300% increase in tourist numbers) have also seen increasing rise of outbound tourists.
Thailand and Japan remain to be the two hottest outbound destinations. With more flight connections, better exchange rate and fewer visa restrictions, many emerging destinations such as Morocco, Turkey and Tunisia are seeing huge growth in visitor numbers.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
