Health and safety are key concerns, impacting the travel intentions of Chinese tourists in the “new normal” as recent findings of the ITB China Travel Trends Report revealed. The report is a yearly publication, conducted by ITB China, to update the travel industry with the latest travel demands and trends in the China market.
According to the market survey based on 200 China outbound travel agencies and travel companies, the prevention and control of the epidemic at the destination are considered most important to Chinese travellers. Sanitary measures in force will also become key concerns, as will stable flights schedules.
(Shares of the surveyed travel companies on the consideration of Chinese travellers in selecting travel products in the next year)
Self-driving tours, Free Independent Travel (FIT) and customized tours are being driven by the new situation to avoid places with crowds and large travel groups. "After the outbreak, travelers may prefer outbound products focusing on safety, health and wellbeing, while the demand for natural landscape and customized travel will also increase," said He Yong, President of HCG Travel Group.
(Shares of surveyed travel companies that estimate the travel products preferred by Chinese travelers in the next year)
Island, outdoor, natural landscape, family and medical tours are expected to be the most popular themes in the coming year.
(Shares of the surveyed travel companies that estimate the popular travel themes in the next year)
Business + Leisure will be still one of the trends for business travel in the future. Over 60 percent of the surveyed travel companies expect business travellers to make personal or family trips to the specific destinations of their business travel next year.
Regarding the question of how to effectively and quickly restore the Chinese travel market, 200 respondents from Chinese outbound travel agencies and travel-related companies participating in the survey, offered opinions and suggestions, such as“Sustain and improve awareness and popularity of destinations”, “Align and upgrade travel products focusing on safety and health”, “Communicate with Chinese partners to keep aware of changes in the Chinese market”, “Set up flexible operation process and quick response mechanism” and “Engage in pre-sale activities of travel products“.
“We would advise European tour operators to start work on preparing products to answer the needs of potential travelers and visitors in the aftermath of the outbreak. These products should focus on health, wellbeing, nature, and should be customisable. Examples of such products could be self-guided tours. Chinese tour operators should get in touch with potential partners in Europe to help prepare these products, especially taking into account the Chinese experience in restarting domestic travel after the pandemic,” said Mr. Eduardo Santander, Executive Director of European Travel Commission.
