中国国际旅游缓慢回暖 - Chinese international tourism slowly picking up

Slowly but surely, tourism to and from China is picking up again. After three years of quasi no outbound tourism, Chinese tourists can finally start packing their bags again to set out into the world.  However, the anticipated travel boom to Europe has yet to happen, as the travel industry solves its issues at the supply side.

缓慢的但肯定的是，中国的出入境旅游正在再次回暖。在经历了三年几乎没有出境游的情况后，中国游客终于可以开始收拾行李，向世界出发了。然而，由于旅游业正在解决其供应方面的问题，预期的欧洲旅游热潮尚未发生。

Before the pandemic hit the world, China was the biggest outbound tourism market with 155 million trips recorded in 2019. During that year, Chinese tourists spent about 255 billion dollars on outbound travels or 17% of the global share. However, during the following three years, international tourism came to a standstill, and the much-welcomed Chinese tourists were bound to their home. During that time, domestic travel was the safest option to rely on. Consequently, many Chinese travellers explored the various exciting places their home country has to offer.

在疫情爆发之前，中国是最大的出境游市场，2019年的出境游人数达到1.55亿人次。那一年，中国游客出境游支出约2550亿美元，占全球份额的17%。然而，在接下来的三年里，国际旅游业陷入停滞，备受欢迎的中国游客被困在了他们的家乡。在那个时候，国内旅行是最安全的选择。因此，许多中国游客探索了祖国提供的各种令人兴奋的地方。

Strong domestic travel rebound

国内旅游回暖

When travel restrictions were lifted at the end of 2022, many people expected a sudden surge in international tourist trips from China. However, this has yet to happen, as the industry recovers from its three-year standstill. At first, Chinese tourists were rather hesitant to travel abroad due to uncertainty over Covid measures in foreign countries, but also due to unclear visa policies and Chinese New Year keeping many people within the country.

当2022年底旅游限制被取消时，许多人预计来自中国的国际游客会突然激增。然而，随着该行业从三年的停滞中复苏，这种情况尚未发生。起初，由于外国新冠疫情防控措施的不确定性，中国游客对出国旅游相当犹豫，但也因为签证政策不明确，加上中国农历新年让很多人留在国内。

Furthermore, during the traditionally travel-packed Labor Day holiday in May, it was noted that the domestic travellers’ average spending was lower. More Chinese tourists are opting for lower-cost trips, which was exemplified by little-known city Zibo boasting the highest hotel occupancy rate in the country, due to its regional delicacy becoming viral on social media.

此外，在传统的五一劳动节假期期间，国内游客的平均消费较低。越来越多的中国游客开始选择低成本旅游，不知名的淄博就是一个例子，由于其地方美食在社交媒体上走红，淄博号称是中国酒店入住率最高的城市。

The supply side needs time to resurge

供给方面的复苏需要时间

On the supply side, things are not ideal either. In April 2023, the scheduled international departures from China were only a third of those in April 2019. The biggest Chinese airline carriers have been struggling with increased oil prices, a weaker yuan, geopolitical tensions, and a loss of staff since the end of the pandemic. The same is true for travel agencies, who have seen their business disrupted during the three-year standstill. Although recently queries for international destinations have increased, with staff decimated, a decrease in flights to transport tourists to their destinations and overseas partner businesses having disappeared, it is difficult doing business. This causes tours to have become rather expensive, although they are the preferred option for Chinese travellers. Trip.com for example, the biggest online travel company in China, offered 1200 tour options in 16 countries in February, far from the tens of thousands of options in 60 countries before 2020. On Labor Day, bookings of international flights were only 50% of the pre-Covid situation.

在供应方面，情况也不理想。2023年4月，预计从中国出境的国际人数仅为2019年4月的三分之一。自疫情结束以来，最大的中国航空公司一直在努力应对油价上涨、人民币贬值、地缘政治紧张局势以及员工流失。旅行社也是如此，他们的业务在三年的停滞中受到了影响。尽管最近对国际目的地的查询有所增加，但由于工作人员大量减少，运送游客到目的地的航班减少，海外合作伙伴企业消失，做生意很困难。这导致旅游变得相当昂贵，尽管这是中国游客的首选。例如，中国最大的在线旅游公司携程网（Trip.com）今年2月提供了16个国家的1200种旅游选择，与2020年前60个国家的数万种选择相去甚远。劳动节当天，国际航班预订量仅为疫情前的50%。

Return of global Chinese tourism

全球华人旅游回归

Experts foresee a significant increase in international tourism from China by the second half of 2023 to destinations in Southeast Asia, Japan and Oceania. Although European destinations may need to wait a little longer, European businesses need to prepare for the returning Chinese tourists, whose taste has changed over the past three years. Chinese tourists have become more sophisticated: they are now more experience-oriented than before, hyper-digitized and looking to explore new places.

专家预计，到2023年下半年，中国赴东南亚、日本和大洋洲的国际旅游将大幅增加。尽管欧洲旅游目的地可能需要再等一段时间，但欧洲企业需要为中国游客的回归做好准备。过去三年，中国游客的品味发生了变化。中国游客变得更加成熟：他们现在比以前更注重体验，高度数字化，希望探索新的地方。

Below are several suggestions proposed by McKinsey & Co.

以下是麦肯锡公司提出的几点建议。

The new Chinese tourist wants more out of their travels than sightseeing and shopping. These days, Chinese travellers are more geared towards unique local experiences such as theme parks, snow sports, water sports, local shows and cultural activities. While these experiences should be authentic, Chinese tourists also want them to be more or less familiar and accessible.

除了观光和购物，新的中国游客想要从旅行中获得更多。如今，中国游客更倾向于独特的当地体验，如主题公园、雪地运动、水上运动、当地表演和文化活动。虽然这些体验应该是真实的，但中国游客也希望这些体验或多或少是熟悉的、平易近人的。

Now more than ever, social media plays a big role in the way Chinese people learn about experiences and destinations. Short video platforms such as Douyin (Tiktok) now have a major influence on all age groups and consumer types. Tourism companies could consider engaging in cooperations with livestream KOLs (influencers) or even starting their own livestream channel on a popular Chinese platform to inform the Chinese public about their popular destination.

如今，社交媒体在中国人了解体验和目的地方面发挥着前所未有的重要作用。抖音等短视频平台现在对所有年龄段和消费者类型都有重大影响。旅游公司可以考虑与直播网红（网红）合作，甚至在一个受欢迎的中国平台上开设自己的直播频道，向中国公众介绍他们的热门目的地。

As with all business ventures, it is key to find the right long-term partner who can help you scale up your business. Belgian companies should first understand the various company types that are at play in the fragmented Chinese travel industry, such as online travel agencies (OTA), online travel portals (OTP) and traditional agencies. All these types of companies cater to different consumer segments. Businesses should also be wary of prospected partners who want to scale your business solely based on volume, often reached by ultra-low prices. Belgian businesses should make a clear statement about their value proposition in order to find the right partner.

与所有商业投资一样，找到合适的长期合作伙伴是关键，他们可以帮助你扩大业务规模。比利时公司首先应该了解在中国支离破碎的旅游行业中存在的各种公司类型，如在线旅行社（OTA）、在线旅游门户网站（OTP）和传统旅行社。所有这些类型的公司都迎合不同的消费群体。企业还应该警惕那些只希望通过数量来扩大业务规模的潜在合作伙伴，这些合作伙伴通常是通过超低价格来实现的。为了找到合适的合作伙伴，比利时企业应该明确自己的价值主张。

Chinese people are some of the most digitally savvy people on the planet and they expect their experience abroad to be as digital as what they enjoy at home. This means providing the right information on Chinese applications, opening online portals on Chinese platforms and allowing Chinese customers to use their Chinese payment systems.

中国人是世界上最懂数字化的人群之一，他们希望自己在国外的体验能像在国内一样数字化。这意味着在中国应用程序上提供正确的信息，在中国平台上开放在线门户，并允许中国客户使用他们的中国支付系统。

Please contact the Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (BCECC) in case you need more information.

如需了解更多信息，请与比利时中国商会（BCECC）联系。

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