It’s no surprise that tourism flatlined in 2020. For many places, the absence of Chinese tourists has been especially felt, but domestic travel in China has already seen an impressive recovery.
During this year’s Golden Week, China’s October peak travel season, domestic tourism surged almost to pre-covid levels. However, with the pandemic still in full swing, and many countries experiencing a second wave, it’ll be a while before we see outbound tourists again.
But the last few months has given us a sense of the type of visitor we’re likely to see when Chinese tourists start travelling overseas again. And it looks like once common large coach groups will become far less common as China’s outbound tourism starts to recover.
The Dragon Trail’s analysis of Golden Week found that only 2% of holidaymakers went as part of a group tour. It was independent travellers and small family groups that made up a huge proportion of domestic travellers.
Is China’s domestic tourism recovery really a good indicator of future outbound trends? This shift from group to independent travel has been happening for a while.
Rise of the Fully Independent Traveller
The trend of spurning large group tours in favour of planning your own trip isn’t new, but it’s only recently become popular in China. Over the last few years, more and more Chinese tourists have opted to travel in small groups, as a couple, or solo.
According to Hotels.com, this drive for independent travel has been driven by bolder, more adventurous, tech-savvy millennials.
Local businesses have increasingly adapted to accommodate Chinese tourists. Chinese speaking staff, website and signs in Chinese, and the ability to pay using AliPay make travelling alone far less daunting.
Technology has also played a huge part in this, with social media and apps doing the job of a traditional coach guide. Smart phones allow tourists to navigate new places, find restaurants and unique experiences, and source local Mandarin speaking guides.
Social media users are exposed to thousands of travel videos and blogs from key influencers. These influencers give their followers a thirst for authenticity, local flavour and colourful experiences that you don’t get on a coach tour.
Dominance of Independent travel after covid-19
Travel industry experts expect this shift towards independent travel to thrive in a post covid world.
When China’s outbound tourism begins to recover, safety is going to be a paramount concern. Tourists will need confidence that the risk of covid-19 is minimised anywhere they visit.
This is where independent travel can flourish.
Unlike in an organised group tour, travelling as an individual or in small groups allows for effective social distancing. Independent travellers also have the freedom to visit less crowded spots that group tours tend to visit.
Alongside this, older generations more susceptible to the effects of covid may be understandably anxious to go abroad. This means younger travellers, who are more likely to travel independently, will be far more common as the pandemic begins to subside.
Finally, local restrictions capping the size of groups will be a huge factor in encouraging tourists to travel in individual or family groups.
We have seen small-scale independent travel getting more popular in China long before the pandemic. However, it’s looking very likely that the pandemic will secure its dominance in the outbound travel market for years to come.