China outbound travel appetite still holding strong: COTRI

Tuesday 21st of July 2020

According to the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI), Chinese demand to travel overseas remains strong and businesses in the industry are expecting a big improvement by 2022 from 2019 levels.

COTRI ran a survey of 38 participants in the global travel industry asking about opinion on the potential success of their business with the China outbound market. It concedes that the survey was not representative, but the results were encouraging nonetheless.

Out of the 38 respondents, 29 expected their business to be “much better’, four “somewhat better,” three the same and two for “somewhat worse.” None saw things as being “much worse.”

COTRI also points to a recent China Daily article citing tourism industry insiders who say that the appetite for travel will prevail once the pandemic subsides.

“Just like nobody would have ever imagined China to be the world’s largest outbound tourism market, one cannot make the judgment now that Chinese tourists will lose their interest in traveling abroad,” Wendy Min, director of international affairs at Trip.com Group was quoted as saying.Min said she is optimistic about the recovery of Chinese outbound tourism after the pandemic. “The industry may see revenge travel after the pandemic, when there is a vaccine and when international flights are resumed.”

The China outbound tourism market is a closely watched sector for Asia’s gambling industry given the reliance on many casinos on these visitors.