Chinese travelers are opting for lower-cost domestic destinations over foreign tourist spots

cnbc.com:

BEIJING — Chinese travelers are increasingly opting for cheaper domestic destinations over foreign tourist spots.

Only 14% of high-income households that traveled internationally last year plan to go abroad again in 2024, according to a survey released this month by consulting firm Oliver Wyman. The segment covers families in mainland China earning at least 30,000 yuan a month ($4,140, or about $50,000 a year).

The top reason for preferring their home country was «abundant domestic travel options,» the survey found, followed by «too costly» international travel.

The average cost per person for traveling within mainland China is less than 1,000 yuan, versus several thousand yuan for a trip to Hong Kong or Japan, Oliver Wyman said.

Local tourism has been a bright spot in China's recovery from Covid-19 controls that ended in late 2022. Travel booking site Trip.com said that in 2023, bookings for rural destinations in China grew by 2.6 times versus pre-pandemic levels.

During a public holiday this year from May 1 to May 5, domestic tourism trips and revenue surged versus pre-pandemic levels in 2019, official data showed. International trips were slightly below 2019 levels, according to CNBC analysis of official figures.

Within mainland China, smaller cities such as Yangzhou, Luoyang, Qinhuangdao, Guilin and Zibo saw the fastest growth in tourism bookings during the May holiday, Oliver Wyman said.

«This year, domestic tourism will surpass pre-pandemic levels,» said Ashley Dudarenok, founder of China digital consultancy ChoZan.

She expects recovery in Chinese traveling internationally to take longer, partly as «the feeling that the rest of the world is mad and unsafe is even higher than in 2023.»

In contrast, a record number