Group package tours will play a reduced role in Chinese outbound tourism say the authors of a new handbook written for the global tourism industry.

“During the pandemic less than 10% of Chinese outbound travellers planned to take a group tour again. Mass market packaged coach tours are the popular image of Chinese tourists. They are, however, increasingly viewed as showing a lack of experience and style. Semi-organised tours, customised according to the preferences of travellers, will become the most important form of trip model.”

The China Outbound Tourism Handbook 2023: 88 Practical Ways to Prepare for the New Wave of Chinese Visitors warns global destinations to re-think outdated pre-conceptions: “A fast-growing segment is semi-organised trips. This will become more important in the coming years than package tours. Such tours are still organised by tour operators, including OTAs, but they are customised according to the wishes of customers.”

The second phase of China’s outbound tourism recovery begins on Monday 6 February. Chinese group tour travel will recommence to 20 countries. Eleven are in Asia Pacific: Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, New Zealand and Fiji. The other 9 are United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Russia, Switzerland, Hungary, Cuba and Argentina. Sales of international group travel packages were suspended by the Chinese government on 24 January 2020 as it prepared to close the borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

But demand for group travel is likely to diminish. As the Handbook reiterates, “First-time travellers from lower-tier Chinese cities might still cling to cheap mass market package tours, but for most destinations and service providers they will create more problems than profit.” It continues: “The pandemic has underlined the vitality of travel planning freedom, and exploring destinations through a personal lens. More Chinese travellers will seek the flexibility to revise their itineraries on demand and create add-on activities while in the destination, which group tours cannot offer.”

The China Outbound Tourism Handbook 2023: 88 Practical Ways to Prepare for the New Wave of Chinese Visitors is co-written by Wolfgang Georg Arlt and Gary Bowerman. It addresses the pivotal issues around Chinese Business Travel & MICE, Free Independent Travel (FIT), Package & Semi-organised Tours, Student Travel and Visit Friends & Relatives (VFR), plus much more.

The Handbook forecasts the number of outbound trips made by Chinese citizens will increase from 170 million in 2019 to 228 million in 2030. The 200 million milestone of annual cross-border movements from China is likely to be reached in 2028.

Written specifically for the global travel and tourism industry, the Handbook introduces the vital drivers of the first 25 years of Chinese outbound tourism since it officially began in 1997, and assesses the outlook up to 2030. The main section is divided into 88 key themes that will influence the development of Chinese outbound travel throughout 2023 and beyond. It features citations and references from 48 countries and 25 Chinese cities and provinces. It includes 264 insightful guideline tips for travel industry practitioners.

Each of the 88 segments features a quick-read summary at the beginning, up-to-date commentary and three bullet-point takeaways at the end. These are directly applicable actions to help travel, tourism and hospitality businesses tailor their products and services as well as their marketing to meet the new needs and aspirations of Chinese travellers.

The China Outbound Tourism Handbook 2023 explores the dramatic changes within China over the past three years – and guides readers to view Chinese tourism through a new lens for an unfolding era of travel. It explores the emerging travel, technology, fashion, branding, retail, marketing and lifestyle trends in China during the pandemic.

Commendations for the China Outbound Tourism Handbook 2023

"My sincere and warm congratulations to the authors on the great insights and the deep and timely body of knowledge on the Chinese tourism recovery in general and on Chinese outbound in particular. It is a delightful read and even for me a learning curve to update myself of my own home country," Xu Jing, Vice Chairman, Global Tourism Economy Research Centre, Former Regional Director of Asia and the Pacific for the UNWTO.

“[The] guide’s very auspicious number of subsections run from Adventure Tourism (“From crossing glass-bottomed bridges high above river valleys and ziplining on mountainsides to kayaking on frothing rivers and skydiving, post-1990s tourists are ready to embrace the fear factor”) to Zheng He. The info is necessary because China will probably soon regain its crown as the biggest travel source market in the world,” Mark Footer, Travel Editor, South China Morning Post.

“This publication is timely, meaningful and astute. Are we prepared for a return of Chinese travellers? Certainly not. But it's never too late. This awesome endeavour by Prof. Wolfgang Georg Arlt and Gary Bowerman is a great start to be more China-ready,” Raini Hamdi, Business and Travel Journalist and Founder of Hotels-Asia.

“The book mainly focuses on 88 key themes that will influence the new wave of Chinese outbound travel, for example, Adventure Tourism, e-Payments, KOLs & KOCs, Metaverse and Mixed Reality, New Frugality, Patriotism and Winter Tourism. With 264 practical tips, the book serves as a practical handbook for applying insights into practice,” Haybina Hao, International Travel Industry Journalist (Chinese and English).

The China Outbound Tourism Handbook 2023 is written by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt and Gary Bowerman. These two leading authorities count decades of experience in the field. They regularly interact with travel industry leaders in China, Asia and worldwide. Both are in-demand speakers at international tourism conferences, and are frequently interviewed by media organisations on all continents. They write and publish widely on Chinese and Asian travel developments, and research the developing travel and lifestyle trends across China and worldwide. Editorial support and artwork are provided by Mrs. Zheng Rong.

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt FRGS FRAS has for 45 years worked across the Chinese travel market. His career includes 20 years as a tenured professor of International Tourism Management and as CEO of the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI), based in Hamburg. Providing training and consulting for companies and organisations worldwide, he recently added the Meaningful Tourism paradigm to the toolbox for the successful and sustainable development of tourism for Chinese and other source markets.

Gary Bowerman is Director of Check-in Asia, an Asia-focused travel consulting and consumer research firm, and Founder of Asia Travel Re:Set. He is an Asia Travel Analyst for Phocuswright, an Asia Consumer Trends Analyst for Mintel and a Senior Advisor to COTRI. He co-hosts The South East Asia Travel Show. Based in Kuala Lumpur, Gary works across China, Asia and globally with NTOs, hotels, OTAs, management consultancies, insurers, banks, consumer brands and market research firms. He lived in Shanghai from 2004-2010.

China Outbound Tourism Handbook 2023: 88 Practical Ways to Prepare for the New Wave of Chinese Visitors was published on 22 January 2023.
Price: EUR25.00
ISBN: 978-3-944757-21-6

The Handbook is now available as a downloadable e-book on Amazon.com and at: https://payhip.com/b/QuVRO

Media Enquiries
For media enquiries, please contact: profarltcotri@yahoo.de and gary@check-in.asia