China Tourism Academy & Ctrip: 2018 Chinese Tourists Traveling to Europe Big Data Report

China Tourism Academy and Ctrip's Huacheng International Travel Group (formerly Huayuan International Travel) jointly released the "2018 China-Europe Tourism Big Data Report". The report is based on the European travel data of my country's outbound travel operation service provider Huacheng International Travel Group, and combined with the booking big data of Chinese outbound tourists on Ctrip.com, it conducts an in-depth analysis of products and users such as European free travel, group tours, customized tours, tickets and entertainment, and visas. It conducts a comprehensive study and analysis of the market size and growth trend of European tourism in 2018, the popularity of departure provinces and cities and destination countries, and consumer characteristics and preferences.

1. Visa convenience for China from eight countries, four major benefits boost European tourism

In 2018, with the advancement of China-EU tourism cooperation under the framework of the "China-EU Tourism Year", Chinese tourists have received more convenient treatment in four major aspects: visas, flights, tourism products and consumer services.

In terms of visas, eight European countries provided entry convenience to Chinese tourists in 2018. Albania announced visa exemption for Chinese citizens during the peak tourist season (April to October). The mutual visa exemption for ordinary passport holders of China and Bosnia and Herzegovina officially took effect on May 29. The mutual visa exemption for ordinary passport holders of China and Belarus officially took effect on August 10. Russia exempts Chinese group tourists and tourists visiting the World Cup from visas. Montenegro has conditional visa exemption for Chinese tourists in the form of travel agencies. Previously, San Marino and Serbia have already exempted Chinese tourists from visas, and Ukraine has opened visa on arrival.

In terms of flights, there are more than 600 flights between China and Europe every week. In 2018, many new routes were opened from various places to Europe, greatly shortening the flight time. Direct flights from Fuzhou to Moscow, Changsha to London, Jinan to Paris, Shenzhen to Brussels and other routes have been opened.

In terms of tourism products, the cooperation between Chinese and European tourism enterprises has also deepened, and new products have increased significantly. Since 2018, Ctrip Group has successively reached strategic cooperation with the European Tourism Commission and Accor Group, the largest hotel group in Europe, and has also successively carried out strategic cooperation with dozens of European destinations such as Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and Austria. At the same time, it launched a European travel platform with the theme of "China-Europe Tourism Year", and launched more than 3,700 products of different types including departure group tours, destination group tours, free travel, cruises, study tours, customized travel, local entertainment, etc.

In terms of consumer services, the number of European public and private institutions adopting the "Welcome Chinese" certification standard of the China Tourism Academy continues to increase, ensuring that Chinese tourists are provided with Chinese tour guides, Chinese signs and interpretation systems, Chinese menus, Chinese information, Internet access, UnionPay cards, WeChat payments and other better and more convenient services. Huacheng International Travel Group attaches great importance to the selection of tour guides. In 2018, it launched the "Tour Guide Service Commitment" and hosted the first "Xianglong Cup" Tour Guide Style Competition to put the power of service into practice.

2. Chinese tourists have traveled all over the world, and the popularity of emerging European destinations has increased significantly

Data from China Travel Service Group shows that the number of people booking European tours in 2018 increased by 27% year-on-year. Data from Ctrip shows that Europe is the second largest destination for Chinese tourists, accounting for 11%, second only to Asia.

According to data from Ctrip.com and Huacheng International Travel Group, the most popular European destinations in 2018 are: Russia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Greece, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Portugal. In addition, the sales of visa products for Türkiye, the Netherlands and other places handled through the Ctrip platform are also high.

Traditional popular destinations are still popular with tourists and are the preferred destinations for most tourists traveling in groups or independently. Taking Italy, one of the main countries for Chinese tourists to visit in Europe, as an example, in 2018, Italy gradually improved its local Chinese services and security guarantees, opened more than 10 visa agency centers in China, and implemented visa issuance within 36 hours. Chinese tourists' travel to Italy continues to heat up.

In 2018, the European destinations with the largest increase in the number of Chinese tourists were: Serbia, Belgium, Spain, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Finland, etc. As the first European country to exempt Chinese tourists from visas, Serbia has become an emerging European tourist destination for China in recent years. Its relatively low travel costs and European style are quite popular among tourists. The conditional visa exemption policy introduced by Montenegro has further facilitated Chinese tourists to travel to Montenegro. Thanks to the political friendship between China and Russia and the holding of the 2018 World Cup, the number of tourists to Russia soared in 2018. The five Nordic countries are increasingly attracting the attention of Chinese tourists, with a 120% increase in tourists from Denmark and a 77% increase in Finland. They mainly go to the capital Helsinki and Lapland to see the northern lights and visit Santa Claus Village.

3. The proportion of departure places in East China is the highest, while Southwest China and Central China have the fastest growth

The main source cities of tourists to Europe in 2018 are: Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Kunming, Xi'an, Nanjing, Wuhan, Jinan, Harbin, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou and Changsha.

First-tier cities are still the main source of tourists to Europe, but compared with the same period last year, Chongqing and Chengdu ranked third and fourth, followed closely by Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The fastest growth is in new first-tier cities such as Chongqing, Kunming, Jinan, Nanning, Taiyuan, Guiyang, Zhengzhou, Nanchang, Fuzhou, and Xi'an, which have also become important emerging ports for European travel. Ctrip's European travel data shows that the growth of European travel in these cities has reached more than 100%.

4. New generation and aging consumers lead the way in consumption, with high-end diamond products accounting for nearly 80%

In 2018, while the mass tourism base continued to expand, more and more consumers began to prefer the segmented "niche market", and fragmented and niche travel continued to rise and showed strong growth. From the perspective of gender and age analysis of tourists, 60% of tourists to Europe are female and 40% are male. The post-80s accounted for the highest proportion, 22%; the post-50s and post-70s accounted for 19%, ranking second; the post-60s accounted for 18%, ranking third. Different circles have different travel choices. The young generation, mainly those born in the 80s and 90s, is becoming more independent in their consumption outlook. According to data from Ctrip Travel and Huacheng International Travel Group, traveling with parents and children has become the most popular travel choice in 2018.

In terms of per capita consumption, Chinese tourists signed up for group tours to Europe in 2018, spending an average of more than 11,823 yuan, a slight decrease compared to 2017. The increase in flights to Europe has also reduced travel costs to a certain extent.

In terms of the diamond level of the products, among the European travel products booked through Ctrip and China Travel Group in 2018, high-diamond products accounted for nearly 80%, among which four-diamond comfort accounted for 75% and five-diamond luxury accounted for 4%.

5. Personalized and in-depth travel becomes a trend, with customized travel in Europe increasing by 150%

Chinese tourists' travel to Europe is showing a trend of in-depth and personalized travel. The "visit here" style of sightseeing in famous attractions can no longer fully meet the personalized needs of tourists. More people are beginning to pursue a unique travel experience that truly integrates into the local culture of Europe. In terms of travel methods, from the perspective of sightseeing vacation orders and tourists, group tours account for 70% of the mainstream, which is related to factors such as language, visas, and culture involved in European tours. In terms of group tours, Huacheng International Travel Group tailors themed products according to the needs of tourists: parents' worry-free travel, family-friendly parent-child travel, 4-6 people MINI small groups, exquisite travel photography, etc. In addition, personalized products such as free travel and customized travel account for 30%, a significant increase compared with previous years. At present, Ctrip's European customized travel business has grown rapidly, accounting for 10% of the total outbound customized travel. The demand for orders has increased by 147% year-on-year in the past year, and the average cost is 2,500 yuan per person per day, which is much higher than the overall market growth rate. Europe has become the second most popular destination for customized travel for Chinese people.

According to the customized needs of tourists, the top ten European customized tour themes have attracted much attention: travel weddings, local food tours, skiing, aristocratic equestrian experience tours, niche towns, football game tours, in-depth cultural tours, experiencing special festivals, watching the aurora, and journeys to trace the origins of civilization.

In 2018, a number of new and fashionable ways of traveling in Europe emerged. Finding a local guide who is familiar with the local area and speaks Chinese has become a popular trend. Tourists can listen to the explanations of scholars at the British Museum in London, take photos in Provence, visit the prototype of Disney Castle in Munich, and walk in the polar tundra of Murmansk, Russia, to experience the ever-changing northern lights.

According to the sales data of Ctrip's attraction tickets, the most popular European attractions for Chinese tourists are: Sagrada Familia, Louvre, Disneyland Paris, Casa Batlló, London Eye, Casa Milà, Park Guell, Palace of Versailles, Royal Palace of Madrid, Vatican Museums and Colosseum. Art and cultural attractions account for the vast majority, and Europe's unique classical art, museum collections and characteristic architecture have attracted a large number of Chinese tourists.