For young Chinese today, travel is no longer just going “from point A to point B”. Their journey planning has shifted to: inspiration → planning → departure → sharing.
1. The starting point for their travel decisions has moved from a functional “I need to go there” to an emotional “I want to live that kind of life”, triggered by content that resonates.
2. As decision pathways change, hotels are evolving from a simple “place to stay” into a “space for living and experiencing a lifestyle”.
3. When choosing where to go, young Chinese travelers are no longer satisfied with “places everyone goes to”. Instead, they ask “where do people like me go?”, making community and identity the key filters for destinations.
Here are a few signals from Douyin (China’s TikTok) to share with you:
● Content featuring distinctive, experience-led hotels has generated 35 billion views on Douyin, and related hotel livestreams have been watched 130 million times in total.
● During this year’s May Day holiday and summer peak, bookings for these hotels on Douyin jumped by 133% and 83% respectively.
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● What’s changing in China’s travel market?
● What do Chinese travelers prefer now?
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● How business travel demand is evolving in China.
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