China’s more than 100 million international travellers spent US$229 billion in 2015, according to a new report.
GfK’s latest study of the Chinese market firmly consolidates China as one of the top global sources of outbound tourism.
It says Chinese Millennials are fuelling the rise in outbound travel spending.
Based on air and overnight visits, South Korea and Thailand have overtaken old favourite Hong Kong as most popular overseas destinations, with Thailand recording a 263% increase since 2011.
It also found trips to Japan were up by 157% over the same period.
"China’s outbound tourists remain strategic to Hong Kong and its businesses – but other destinations are jumping ahead in winning their favour. Destinations such as Hong Kong need to re-evaluate China’s new breed of young and independently-minded travellers, to understand how best to attract them," said Laurens van den Oever, global head of travel and hospitality research at GfK.
According to GfK data, half of all outbound travellers are under 30 years old while an additional 37% are aged between 30-44 years.
GfK says Millennials are also the biggest purchasers of luxury goods in Asia Pacific.
Further afield, Europe is the most popular long haul region with visitor numbers almost doubling in the last four years.
