Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Significant drop of travellers in 2020 even though market is recovering
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- Figure 1: Total travel volume in China, 2015-20 (est)
- Recovery backed by domestic local travel so far
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- Figure 2: Travellers’ volume at key holiday time, 2019 vs 2020
- Demand stays robust to support further recovery
- Better personal finance motivates travel participation
- Strong association with a healthy lifestyle makes traveling a priority
- Supply-side adopts various actions to inject confidence
- Future outlook
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- Figure 3: Summary of impact of COVID-19 on travel, domestic and outbound segments, Oct 2020
- The consumer
- Strong willingness to travel in the future powers market recovery
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- Figure 4: Past and future travel participation, August 2020
- More personalised travelling wanted
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- Figure 5: Desired ways of travel in the future, August 2020
- Top cited domestic destinations remain unchanged
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- Figure 6: Anticipated domestic travel destination, word cloud and ranking, August 2020
- Shopping more preferred in outbound travel than domestic
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- Figure 7: Desired travel activities for future trips, August 2020
- Consumers want travel of good quality
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- Figure 8: Ways to control travel budget, August 2020
- Travel is closely associated with healthy lifestyle
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- Figure 9: Attitudes towards Travel, August 2020
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Emerging travel trends after COVID-19: quality, personalisation and emotional well-being
- The facts
- The implications
- Lifting travel spend via addressing multi-dimensional needs under “emotional wellbeing”
- The facts
- The implications
- Recovery outlook for key sub-markets
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Big drop in travel volume in 2020
- Robust consumer enthusiasm towards travelling will support further recovery
- Improved personal finance makes people more confident to spend on travel
- Market players adopt various measures to encourage travel
Market Overview
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- Sharp drop in travel volume
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- Figure 10: Total travel volume in China, in million, 2015-20 (est)
- Recovery fuelled by domestic local leisure trips
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- Figure 11: Domestic travel volume during key national holiday times in China, 2019-20
- Recovery outlook
- Domestic and outbound segments
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- Figure 12: Summary of impact of COVID-19 on travel, domestic and outbound segments, Oct 2020
Impact on key sub-markets
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- Domestic leisure travel drives accommodation recovery
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- Figure 13: Occupancy rate of selected hotels, first quarter, 2020
- Air passenger volume slowly recovers
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- Figure 14: Percentage share of air passengers in domestic and outbound segments, 2019
- Figure 15: Domestic air passenger volume, by month, 2019-20
- Travel agencies hit by group tours being deprioritised
- Outbound cruises still have market opportunities once sailing again
Drivers for Recovery
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- High willingness to travel
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- Figure 16: Top five things consumers desire to do when the current social distancing measures are relaxed, May and September 2020
- Personal finance rebounds
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- Figure 17: Changes of personal finance, March, June and September 2020
- Relaxed travel restrictions
- Enhanced hygiene practice injects confidence to the market
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- Figure 18: Reasons not to travel, May and August 2020
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- Figure 19: hygiene measures adopted by leading hospitality groups
- Promotional offerings encourage travelling
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- Figure 20: Flight pass products, 2020
- Figure 21: Promotional campaigns launched by leading hotel brands in China, 2020
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Domestic segment recovery till now driven by local leisure trips
- Strong willingness to resume longer-distance travel supporting future recovery
- Higher quality expectation after COVID-19
- Personalisation appreciated after COVID-19
- Wellness motivates travelling
- Gaining knowledge more desired than luxurious experiences
Travel Participation
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- Future recovery needs to promote domestic short-haul and long-haul leisure travel
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- Figure 22: Past and future travel participation, August 2020
- Local leisure trips enjoyed by all generations
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- Figure 23: Participation of domestic local leisure trips during Feb-Aug 2020, by age, August 2020
- Families with children will further drive the recovery of domestic short-haul leisure travel
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- Figure 24: Participation of domestic leisure short-haul trips* during Feb-Aug 2020, by age, August 2020
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- Figure 25: Participation of domestic leisure short-haul trips*, by family structure, August 2020
- Young people lead domestic long-haul’s recovery, whilst families with children remain important
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- Figure 26: Participation of domestic leisure long-haul trips* during Feb-Aug 2020, by demographic, August 2020
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- Figure 27: Intended participation of domestic leisure long-haul trips* in the next 12 months, by demographic, August 2020
- Experienced outbound travellers are key for future recovery
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- Figure 28: Intention to travel outbound in the next 12 months, by past travel experiences, August 2020
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- Figure 29: Mentions for participation in different types of outbound travel in the next 12 months – only participate in one type, August 2020
Desired Ways of Travel in Future
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- More personalisation appreciated for future travelling
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- Figure 30: Desired ways of travel in the future, August 2020
- Group tours get smaller in scale
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- Figure 31: Comparison of ways to travel among consumers aged 20-49, April 2019 and August 2020
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- Figure 32: Comparison of ways to travel among seniors aged 50-59, December 2019 and August 2020
- Use RV-car tours to engage young people
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- Figure 33: Interest in travelling with RV-car tours, by demographic, August 2020
- Figure 34: Attitude toward new experiences, Dec 2019 and Jul 2020
Domestic Destinations
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- Most preferred destinations remain the same
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- Figure 35: Anticipated domestic travel destination, word cloud and ranking, August 2020
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- Figure 36: Choose to visit Hainan island for domestic travel, before vs after COVID-19, November 2017 (left) and August 2020 (right)
- Northwest region is the emerging star
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- Figure 37: Livestreaming by Dunhuang Museum during International Museum Day, May 2020
Desired Travel Activities
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- Domestic segment driven more by attractions than shopping, whilst outbound travel needs both
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- Figure 38: Desired travel activities for future trips, August 2020
- Museum and art galleries target young generations
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- Figure 39: Interests in visiting museum or art galleries for future trips, by demographic, August 2020
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- Figure 40: Young people’s attitude toward paid knowledge explanation services at tourism attractions, by interests in visiting museum or art galleries for future trips, August 2020
Ways to Control Travel Budget
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- Quality of travel is appreciated
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- Figure 41: Ways to control travel budget, August 2020
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- Figure 42: Ways to control travel budget among specific consumer groups, August 2020
- Income does not significantly impact the pursuit for quality travel
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- Figure 43: Ways to control travel budget, by monthly household income, August 2020
- More challenges for paid shows to recover
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- Figure 44: Top five actions for travel budget control, by attitudes towards whether it’s worth watching paid shows (a) at tourism attractions, August 2020
Attitudes towards Travel
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- Position travel as part of healthy lifestyle to reach broader audience
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- Figure 45: Attitudes towards travel – positioning, August 2020
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- Figure 46: Attitude toward travel – positioning, by financial confidence, August 2020
- Gaining knowledge drives future travel experiences
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- Figure 47: Attitudes towards travel – experiences, August 2020
- Luxurious travel services need a more specific targeting strategy
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- Figure 48: Agree with luxurious experiences being indispensible during leisure travel, by demographic, august 2020
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- Figure 49: Past travel experiences, by attitudes towards luxurious experiences during leisure travel, August 2020
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- Figure 50: Preferred domestic travel activities, by attitude toward luxurious experiences during leisure travel, August 2020
- Hygiene protection could evolve into competitive advantage
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- Figure 51: Attitudes toward travels – travel operators, August 2020
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- Figure 52: Attitudes towards travel – hygiene measures of hotels vs guesthouses/vacation rentals, by monthly household income, August 2020
- Overseas islands will face competition from domestic islands
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- Figure 53: Attitude towards travel – island trips, August 2020
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- Figure 54: Attitudes towards travel – island trips, by past outbound island travel experiences, August 2020
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- Figure 55: Willingness to take part in outbound island travel in the next 12 months, by past outbound island travel experiences, August 2020
- Live streaming attracts female aged 25-39
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- Figure 56: Attitude toward travel – live streaming as influencer, August 2020
- Figure 57: Attitudes towards travel – live streaming as influence, by age and gender, August 2020
Meet the Mintropolitans
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- MinTs are active travellers who drive leisure travel recovery
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- Figure 58: Past travel participation, by consumer classification, August 2020
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- Figure 59: Intended travel in the next 12 months, by consumer classification, August 2020
- MinTs want more personalised and novel ways to travel
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- Figure 60: Desired ways of travel in the future, by consumer classification, August 2020
- MinTs will control travel budget by wisely choosing the tourism activities
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- Figure 61: Ways to control travel budget, by consumer classification, August 2020
- MinTs are potential consumers for travel retail
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- Figure 62: Desired travel activities, by consumer classification, August 2020
Appendix – Methodology and Abbreviations
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- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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