The visa exemptions granted by some Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore to Chinese nationals have attracted the strongest revival in the number of tourists from this market since Beijing lifted strict Covid-19 restrictions in early 2023, according to Reuters.
Not only the number, but also the spending of Chinese tourists has increased sharply despite the mainland economy remaining stagnant.
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“Despite macroeconomic headwinds, we believe Chinese people remain willing to spend on travel- related experiences … we believe travel-related spending could continue to outpace overall domestic consumption,” said a HSBC study.
According to leading Chinese travel operator Trip.com, bookings to Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia increased by more than 30% between February 10 and 17 compared to 2019, with Chinese tourists also increasing to Hong Kong, Macau, Japan and South Korea.
The 2024 holiday will last eight days, one day longer than the 2019 Lunar New Year holiday, but the increase from visa exemptions is still the main reason. Specifically, hotel bookings in Bangkok tripled between February 10 and 13 compared to the same period last year, while bookings in Singapore increased ninefold.
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Spending in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia combined on China’s Alipay mobile payment platform rose 7.5% from February 9 to 12 compared with 2019 levels and nearly seven times the level last year, Alipay said. Still, overall consumer spending has only recovered to 82% of levels from four years ago.
The number of Chinese tourists during the holiday was nearly 244,000, exceeding forecasts and up more than six times from 2023, according to data from the Tourism Authority of Thailand. They spent about 8.6 billion baht ($239 million) compared with 1.3 billion baht in 2023.
In addition to traditional destinations in Southeast Asia, Chinese are also on the lookout for new adventures, with the Middle East a popular Lunar New Year destination, with arrivals to Saudi Arabia increasing more than ninefold compared to 2019 levels and bookings to the United Arab Emirates up 60%.
Meanwhile, the gambling hub of Macau, the only place in China where citizens can legally gamble, welcomed more than a million mainland Chinese tourists during the holiday, with an average hotel occupancy rate of 95%.
Total daily gaming revenue is expected to hit $124 million for the first time in more than four years — higher than the $112 million generated during the Golden Week holiday in October 2023.
For Hong Kong, more than 1.2 million Chinese tourists have visited the city with hotel occupancy rates reaching 90% in the first few days of the year.
South Korea's Justice Ministry said more than 114,000 Chinese tourists visited the country during the holiday, up 4% from 2019, while some travel agencies said tourists were increasingly choosing to travel alone rather than in groups, meaning fewer organized shopping trips.
That trend is also seen in Thailand.
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“Shopkeepers say not many tourists are shopping,” said Paisarn Sukjarean, president of the Thai Hotels Association’s northern region. “We also see Chinese tourists carrying very few things. Before, they would go shopping and come back with a bunch of stuff.”
The shift in vacation tastes has been reflected in some data as travelers seek more experience-based trips, with Alipay reporting that Chinese visitors globally spent 70% more on food and beverage than pre-pandemic levels.
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