All eyes on the return of Chinese tourists, as Asian travel economy hits rock bottom

When will Chinese tourists return?

That’s the question foremost on the minds of south-east and far-east destinations. Asian tourism has been ravaged by the pandemic and Chinese tourists, regarded as the largest spenders in the region, hold the key to recovery.

According to South China Morning Post, clues can be gleaned from observing how movement resumes within the Middle Kingdom, and the early signs are positive. On May 28, The Economist reported that some 115 million Chinese tourists travelled during the Labour Day holiday, from May 1 to 5, “a healthy 60% of last year’s number”.

Travel data platform ForwardKeys recently noticed “a domestic phenomenon”, namely an increase in internal flight bookings to commercial centres including Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Sichuan and Yunnan. “All eyes are on Hainan’s duty-free trade zone to see when the ever-important shoppers are set to return,” it reported.

Whether returning domestic confidence will translate into international yearnings is harder to gauge. According to state-run English-language newspaper China Daily, “Chinese travellers are still showing a cautious preference for short-distance trips. Many prefer driving for a few hours to a nearby town for weekends where they may stay for a night – and spend much less than if they go further away and travel by rail or air.”

So, cost looks to be a consideration for the post-Covid-19 Chinese traveller. Surely, how well a place has managed the spread of the coronavirus will also be taken into account, as health and hygiene become measures of a destination’s appeal., the South China Morning Post (SCMP) said. The biggest barriers to China’s outbound tourism market, though, are the travel bans that have closed off entire countries, not to mention the infrequency of inter­national flights. Even once aviation takes off, the million-dollar question will be how expensive it would be, SCMP stated.

Nevertheless, according to travel media company Skift, there are reasons for Asian destinations to be cheerful. “If you look at the amount of Chinese and you look at the tiny percentage – around 10% – that have passports: we’re just seeing the real tip of the iceberg in terms of demand of out­bound tourism from China,” consultant Richard Tams told Skift. “There is an enormous amount of pent-up demand. Restrictions are going to be lifted very gradually […] but I think the demand out of China will be significant.”