Ctrip: 2019 National Tourism Consumption Report

In 2019, the national tourism consumption demand continued to be released, and the tourism consumption capacity of the Chinese people continued to break records. Among them, the consumption power of first-tier and new first-tier cities is in the leading position.

New ways of playing are popular and travel records continue to be broken

As tourism consumption becomes more popular, the consumption power of residents in first-tier and new first-tier cities is becoming stronger. The report points out that the top 20 cities for tourism consumption in 2019 are Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Nanjing, Tianjin, Wuhan, Xi'an, Suzhou, Qingdao, Changsha, Kunming, Shenyang, Ningbo, Dongguan, Zhengzhou and Foshan.

The tourism consumption potential of third- and fourth-tier cities such as Zhangjiajie, Yiwu, Kashgar, Yixing, Xichang, Lishui, Kaifeng, Jingzhou, Zunyi, and Tai'an continues to be released, with per capita consumption increasing by more than 50% year-on-year in 2019.

The continuous upgrading of mass tourism demand has made new ways of playing popular, such as chartering a plane for vacation and Zen meditation tourism. In the fourth quarter of this year, nearly 10,000 tourists experienced private jet travel. Shanghai, Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Sanya, Chengdu, and Changbai Mountain were popular destinations. Among them, the largest order for a single charter flight was at the level of one million yuan; going to a Zen temple in the mountains to empty oneself or "retreat" in a remote mountain forest for a period of time is also sought after by tourists. The popularity of Zen meditation tourism in Wudang Mountain, Qingcheng Mountain, Emei Mountain, Wutai Mountain, Songshan Mountain and other places remains high.

Not only are they keen on new ways of playing, but more and more Chinese people who dare to play and spend money are also constantly breaking travel records. The report shows that the "largest travel order" in 2019 came from a cruise order from a Ctrip store in Liaoning, with a total amount of more than 11 million yuan, and a total of 3,000 people traveling together; a tourist from Weihai spent 600,000 yuan throughout the year, checking in at five-star hotels around the world, becoming the user who spent the most on hotel stays in 2019; the user who flew the most in 2019 came from Chengdu, with 112 flights throughout the year, and the flight mileage was equivalent to eight laps around the equator.

Post-90s generation becomes the main force of tourism consumption, preferring personalized and in-depth experience

With the continuous rise of young consumer power, those born in the 1990s have surpassed those born in the 1980s to become the main force of tourism consumption.

The report shows that among users who booked products through Ctrip in 2019, those born in the 1980s ranked first with a share of 35%, followed by those born in the 1990s (1990-1995), accounting for 19%; those born in the 1995s rose to third place, accounting for 17%, and those born in the 1990s and 1995s accounted for 36%. Those born in the 1970s, 1960s, and 2000s accounted for 17%, 6%, and 4%, respectively.

Post-95s prefer personalized and in-depth experiences and are keen on "visiting multiple destinations". The number of people who visit the same destination multiple times in a year has increased by more than 160% year-on-year. Japan, Thailand, Macau, the United States, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore are the top ten popular outbound travel destinations for post-95s who "visit multiple destinations".

The report shows that thanks to the emergence of e-sports hotels, it has become possible to continue to "play games" in groups during travel; at the same time, the rise of movie hotels where you can experience "private cinemas" in your hotel room has enriched travel nightlife. In 2019, nearly 40% of the guests of "movie hotels" and "e-sports hotels" were born after 1995, who are more daring to try new ways of playing.

In addition, the spending power of the elderly should not be underestimated. In 2019, more than 3 million people born in 1949 traveled to more than 100 countries around the world. Because of their long vacations and sufficient pensions, the proportion of elderly people traveling to the United States, Australia, Canada and other countries was much higher than that of those born after 1990.

Chinese people love to go to Japan, and Japanese people love to visit China.

The report shows that Japan, Thailand, the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and France are the top ten most popular outbound travel destinations for Chinese tourists, and six of them are destinations with a flight time of about four hours. The number of Chinese tourists traveling to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other places continues to grow rapidly.

At the same time, more and more people are visiting niche destinations. In 2019, the number of orders on Ctrip's platform to Serbia, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Belarus, Croatia, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Qatar and other unpopular destinations increased by more than 100% year-on-year, and people born after 1990 are the main force of travel.

It is worth noting that the strong travel demand of residents in low-tier cities is more evident in the outbound travel market. According to the report, the number of outbound tourists from third-tier and lower-tier cities increased by 160% year-on-year, exceeding that of first-tier cities.

China not only exports the most tourists to the world, but also attracts many overseas tourists. The report points out that the top ten popular source markets for inbound tourism are Japan, Australia, South Korea, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Malaysia. Benefiting from the "Golden Ten Days" holiday in Japan in May this year, nearly 100,000 Japanese tourists traveled to China, and Japan became the largest source market for inbound tourism in 2019.

Destinations with historical and cultural heritage and characteristics, such as Xi'an and Chengdu, are favored by foreign tourists. Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Qingdao, Nanjing, Xi'an and Xiamen are the top ten popular cities for inbound tourism in 2019.