“According to Mintel’s Chinese Spending Habits – China, April 2015 report, holidays account for 11% of total consumer expenditure, which is the third most important spending after housing and finance and in-home food. This shows the importance of holidays to Chinese consumers.

Chinese are both travelling more often and spending more during each holiday. Holidays are very important occasions for Chinese people to switch-off from a heavy work load and relax. Thus they pay more attention to better catering and accommodation to indulge themselves while on holiday.

As disposable income continues to grow, Chinese consumers are also likely to seek richer, new experiences in addition to just comfort. Their focus is shifting away from the traditional activities of site-seeing and photo-taking, with more emphasis on local experiences and gaining greater understanding of local culture and heritage during their trips.”

– Linda Li, Senior Research Analyst

In this report, Mintel answers the following key questions:

What kind of activities are Chinese tourists most interested in and what kind of information is most important when they are searching for a holiday?

How can holiday marketers, such as tourist boards, hotels, and travel agencies – as well as advertising companies working for them – better reach Chinese tourists?

What should tourists boards/travel agencies abroad emphasise when marketing to Chinese tourists?