Ep 149: When Will Chinese Travellers Return - And What’s Changed?

About This Episode

8 Sep 2022 • 34m40s

When will Chinese travellers return to Asia Pacific - and what has changed in China in the interim? These are questions that all tourism operators are asking themselves. On this week’s show, we fill in some of the gaps.

Gary recently produced the China Travel Market Report 2021-2025 for Phocuswright, and is working on a couple of other China travel economy projects. So, Hannah grills him on the impact of the pandemic across the Chinese travel industry - and what happens next as the world awaits the return of Chinese tourists.

En route, we assess the current landscape for domestic, inbound and outbound travel. We discuss the impact of Covid-Zero on China’s airlines, OTAs and hotels.

Plus, what are some of China’s intriguing domestic travel and consumer trends that have emerged?

What is ‘branded glamping’? Why have OTAs and hotels invested heavily in intelligent and interactive technologies?

And which demographics could drive the growth of Chinese tourism in future?

Resources

Key Developments in China’s Online Travel Market (Phocuswright)

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