China tourism academy and Ctrip released ＂2016 China Outbound Tourism Big Data＂

122 million, close to the population of Japan-this is the scale of Chinese outbound tourists in 2016; Tourism spending is as high as $109.8 billion (about 760 billion yuan). On January 20th, Ctrip Travel, the largest outbound travel service provider in China, and china tourism academy, a research institute directly under the National Tourism Administration, jointly released "Pay tribute to China tourists-2016 China outbound tourists big data". Based on the annual tourism data, combined with Ctrip’s 250 million members and the largest group tour and free travel order data in the industry, the expert teams of both sides conducted a comprehensive monitoring of the annual outbound travel situation and tourists’ behavior.

According to the report, Chinese mainland tourists tend to choose more convenient, safer, more stable, more warm and friendly destinations with better natural and living environment. The purpose of going abroad has also shifted from sightseeing to enjoying overseas quality living environment and services, including climate, air, prices and housing prices, commodities, medical care and education. Outbound tourism has become a major standard to measure the happiness of urban families and young people in China.

1. 122 million outbound trips are equivalent to the entire Japanese population going abroad.

In 2016, driven by income growth and upgrading of tourism consumption, as well as the convenience factors such as visas and flights, China’s outbound tourism fever continued, with the number of outbound tourists reaching 122 million, up 4.3% from 117 million in 2015, and continuing to be the world champion of global outbound tourists.

The Internet has become an important force to promote China’s outbound tourism. "Ctrip is in hand, just leave", and online travel websites and mobile phone clients have become important channels for Chinese tourists to inquire and book. The data shows that in 2016, Ctrip served more than 15 million outbound tourists through holiday products and services such as group tours, free travel, cruises, local play, and micro-leaders.

China has become the largest source of inbound tourists in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Russia, Maldives, Britain and other countries. However, less than 10% of the national population participate in outbound travel every year, and only 10% of the total population have exit documents. The development of outbound travel still has unlimited potential.

In 2016, China’s outbound tourism expenditure was as high as 109.8 billion US dollars (about 760 billion yuan).It costs $900 per capita.Although the number of outbound tourists only accounts for 3% of the total number of tourists, the consumption of outbound tourists accounts for 16% of the national tourism expenditure.

Judging from the cost of online tourists, Chinese people are increasingly keen on outbound travel. According to the statistics of Ctrip’s tourism and holiday products, in 2016, more than 65% of the expenses were for outbound travel and 35% for domestic travel. In 2016, the highest online tourism consumption record in China was the "80-day tour around the world" tour group launched by Ctrip’s Hongyi Yiyou, with a per capita consumption of 1.38 million.

China tourists are called "mobile wallets". Which countries spend the most on traveling? According to Ctrip’s outbound travel order data, the report released the top ten outbound destination countries with the largest amount of tourists spending in China in 2016, followed by: Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Maldives, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, Italy and Malaysia. Thailand, Japan and South Korea, which are closest to China, have become the biggest winners.

From the perspective of overseas cities, the top ten cities that spend the most on tourists in China are: Seoul, Bangkok, Tokyo, Osaka, Singapore, Chiang Mai, London, Moscow, new york, Rome and Sydney.

In 2016, Chinese people traveled, which routes were the most local? The top ten tourist routes with the highest per capita expenses are Argentina, Chile, Madagascar, Ethiopia, French Polynesia, Tahiti, Mexico, Brazil, Kenya and Reunion (French). Take the South American route as an example. Last year, the per capita consumption exceeded 50,000 yuan, and the number of tourists increased by 200%.

Third, China tourists are still keen on group tours, but free travel and customized tours are growing faster.

Outbound tour, group tour or free travel? According to the analysis of the report, the number of outbound tourists organized by national travel agencies in 2016 is expected to exceed 50 million, mainly with group tours. Among the 122 million outbound tourists, the proportion is 40%. The scale of free travel abroad exceeds 70 million person-times, accounting for 60%. Chinese tourists are still keen on group tours, especially in the second, third and fourth tier cities and regions. However, free travel abroad is the general trend. Take the millions of outbound tourists organized by Ctrip as an example, about 50% are with the group and 50% are free. It has also become a trend for group tourists to choose semi-self-help tours and private tours. Tourists can choose flights and hotels freely, most of the trips are arranged by travel agencies, and they have enough free time to soak in hotels and visit local markets.

In 2016, outbound travelers are increasingly favoring new forms of tourism products-a special trip to Miyazaki Hayao’s "Ghost Princess" Yakushima for hiking and watching turtles spawn through customized travel; Spend 10,000 to 20,000 yuan to sign up for a medical check-up tour in Japan for a comprehensive anti-cancer check-up. The data shows that the number of people booking overseas customized tours, theme tours and overseas tickets and play products through Ctrip has increased by 400%, 250% and 100% respectively. In 2016, the journey of outbound tourists became richer and more convenient.

Fourth, women prefer to travel abroad, and after 70 and 80, they are the main consumers.

122 million outbound tourists, who are these people? The data shows that women love going abroad more than men. According to the gender and age statistics of online outbound travel, among the outbound tourists in 2016, 56% were women, 44% were men, and the proportion of women was 12 percentage points higher. Matching with its wealth and physical strength, the post-70s and 80s are still the backbone of outbound travel, accounting for nearly 50%. However, more and more silver-haired people who are born after 90,000 and have the most time have joined the team of outbound travel. In 2016, the oldest outbound tourist in China was 101 years old.

What services do China outbound tourists need most? It is reported that according to the annual big data statistics of Ctrip’s service product "micro-leader", there are 16 kinds of questions that users ask for help, including all aspects of tourism life, among which the most are: transportation 33.7%, scenic spots 20.9%, food 15.4%, shopping 6.5%, entry and exit 5.1%, weather 3.5%, foreign exchange related 2.9% and so on.

Diseases, volcanic earthquakes, terrorist attacks and other emergencies also account for a large proportion. In addition, the most common emergency scenarios in which customers need help during travel are: finding goods, assisting in medical treatment, purchasing medicines, and natural disaster relief. A child of a China tourist in Tokyo, Japan, suddenly got chicken pox, so he found a domestic tourist who was about to leave through a micro-leader, bought domestic medicine from the airport and brought it to Japan, and went to see a doctor smoothly under the guidance of a doctor.

Evolving tourism products and improving services have improved the experience and satisfaction of Chinese tourists. At present, the mobile phone applications launched by Chinese tourism enterprises have covered the comprehensive tourism and life needs such as food, housing, transportation, travel, shopping, entertainment and guidance, and realized one-stop service on the palm. Recently, Ctrip also launched an independent food brand to solve the problem of "eating" in outbound travel.

In order to solve the problem that free travel, especially outbound travel, lacks full service, the "micro-leader" gathers tourists from the same period and destination in WeChat group or Ctrip APP to provide question and answer service for destination travel information and support for unexpected situations. In 2016, the number of tourists who served exceeded 10 million, and the response speed of service also increased in seconds, covering the whole process of tourism.

Sixth, the list of outbound provinces and cities: the era of "new frontline"

Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, as the four major exit ports in China, are unshakable, but the "new first-tier" cities have contributed the largest number of new customers to the outbound tourism market. The number of online outbound tourists has increased by more than 100% at the highest, and their spending power has also been comparable to that of first-tier cities.

According to Ctrip’s million-scale outbound free travel and the number of people traveling with groups, the report released the top 20 outbound travel departure cities in 2016, including 16 "new first-line" cities for outbound travel. The number of outbound tourists in most cities reaches 1-2 million every year. With the addition and encryption of international flights and visa centers, citizens no longer need to go to big cities for registration and departure. The number of outbound tourists in these areas is growing faster than that in first-tier cities.

The top 20 departure cities for outbound tourism in 2016 are: Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Nanjing, Tianjin, Wuhan, Chongqing, Xiamen, Xi ‘an, Changsha, Kunming, Qingdao, Shenyang, Ningbo, Zhengzhou, Nanning and Dalian. The top 10 cities with the fastest growth rate of outbound tourists are Zhuhai, Nanning, Hefei, Zhengzhou, Changchun, Kunming, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Chongqing and Xi ‘an.

Which cities have the highest average spending on outbound travel? Ctrip, group tours and free travel data show that the top ten cities with the highest per capita spending in 2016 are: Beijing, Shanghai, Changchun, Shenyang, Guiyang, Kunming, Xi ‘an, Nanjing, Chengdu and Qingdao. Their spending on outbound and group tours and free travel products ranks among the top in the country. Among them, Beijing ranked first with 6203 yuan, followed by Shanghai, Changchun and Shenyang. Cities such as Kunming, Guiyang and Xi ‘an in the west are also on the list.

In 2016, the gold content of China passports increased significantly. Chinese citizens’ outbound tourist destinations have expanded to 151 countries and regions. Countries all over the world are trying their best to welcome tourists from China. As of January 2017, 61 countries and regions with China ordinary passports can be conditionally exempted from visas or visit landing visa, an increase of 9 compared with the same period last year. European countries have also started to grant visa-free access to China. On January 1, 2017, China and Serbia were exempted from visas for ordinary passport holders. Following the United States, Canada, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Israel, Australia officially joined the "ten-year visa" team to China.

According to online booking data, the report released the top 20 most popular destination countries for China tourists in 2016, which are Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, the United States, Malaysia, Maldives, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Russia, Australia, Mauritius, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Britain, Egypt and Germany.

Thailand, South Korea and Japan were the top three popular destinations in 2016. In 2016, 8.77 million, 8.04 million and 6 million Chinese mainland tourists visited these three countries respectively. Tourism to Southeast Asia and South Asia grew the fastest, especially in Vietnam and the Philippines, where the number of tourists with Ctrip visa services increased by 166% and 124%.

In 2016, some destinations became dark horses for outbound travel, which significantly increased the attractiveness of Chinese tourists. According to the number of online applicants, the report released the top ten popular destinations with the fastest growth of tourists, followed by: Vietnam, Philippines, India, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Britain and Canada. The relaxation of visas has become the main reason why these countries have become dark horses. Due to the more favorable visa policy for China tourists, the highest growth rate of tourists is over 100%.

In 2016, some countries and regions were frustrated with Chinese mainland’s tourism market. China, Taiwan Province, French, Italian, Nepalese, Swiss, Turkish, Greek, etc., the number of tourists dropped significantly.

Europe saw the biggest decline, and the French tourism department predicted that the number of tourists from China would drop by 20% in 2016. Since the fourth quarter, the number of tourists to South Korea, China and Taiwan Province has dropped most obviously, and Southeast Asia has become the most popular alternative destination. According to the data, last year, Chinese mainland residents made 3.61 million trips to Taiwan Province, China, a decrease of nearly 800,000 trips or 14.4% compared with 2015, which was the first decline in eight years. Although the number of tourists to South Korea showed an upward trend throughout the year, due to factors such as the deployment of the Sadr anti-missile system, the growth of Korean tourism slowed down. In Turkey, where there have been many coups and terrorist attacks this year, the number of tourists has shrunk by more than half.

According to the report, Chinese mainland tourists are increasingly inclined to go to more convenient, safer, more stable, more warm and friendly destinations.

Eight, not just sightseeing and shopping: going abroad for islands, parks, museums and medical care.

Affected by domestic smog, air pollution and rising holiday demand of Chinese people, air quality and natural environment have become important factors for Chinese tourists to choose their destinations. The islands with fresh air and bright sunshine are increasingly favored by China tourists. Island tours account for 30% of the total number of outbound tourists. According to Ctrip’s holiday orders, the top ten popular islands in 2016 include Phuket, Bali, Jeju Island, Okinawa, Boracay, Maldives, Sabah, Nha Trang, Saipan and Sri Lanka.

Taking children to the park for a parent-child tour is also a major driving force for outbound travel. According to the outbound ticket booking data, the report also released the top ten scenic spots in the world in 2016, including Hong Kong Disneyland and Universal Studios Singapore.

Apart from sightseeing and shopping, China tourists are becoming more and more interested in the cultures and arts of other countries, and a "museum craze" has arisen. According to Ctrip’s local play booking data, the report released the top 10 most popular museums in China in 2016, with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Louvre, Vatican Museum and British Museum in London ranking first.

Overseas medical treatment has become a new fashion for Chinese tourists after "buying abroad". A large number of wealthy people in China spend a lot of money to choose overseas medical tourism. In 2016, the number of medical tourists who signed up for exit medical examination through Ctrip was five times that of the previous year, and the per capita order cost exceeded 50,000 yuan. According to online booking and browsing data, the report released the top 10 most popular destination countries and regions for overseas medical tourism: Japan, South Korea, the United States, Taiwan Province, China, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, Switzerland, Thailand and India.