Millions of Chinese tourists went travelling during the Spring Festival holiday, which lasted for nine full days due to the coincidence of the Lunar Calendar Year of the Horse with the Gregorian Calendar year (2012 being the 12th year of the 12-Year Cycle of the Chinese zodiac). This year, the Chinese government declared the holiday to be longer than in previous years by adding an additional holiday – just one day — and this one day made a significant difference. According to travel industry experts, an extended break provides an opportunity for many more people to travel.
During the “40-day peak travel period”, the Chinese government anticipates a total of 9.5 billion trips by all modes of transportation, which is an increase of 5.46% from the previous year’s 9.02 billion trips and represents the largest single annual migration in the world. In addition to the large number of people travelling to celebrate the Spring Festival, the number of people travelling for vacation purposes is also extremely large.
Thailand again was chosen as the top overseas destination for many of the Chinese who chose to travel internationally due to the warm beaches, tropical climate, and the relative ease of travel to Thailand as opposed to more northern locations in the world. While most of China is cold in February, Thailand provides a warm climate with sunshine and palm trees. A significant reason behind the popularity of Thailand — and other more southerly destinations — is due to the fact that many Chinese people want to travel during the long Spring Festival holiday; thus, the “migratory” nature of travel has caused many tourists to choose destinations that provide a warm climate and sunny weather.
An unexpected increase in travel demand was observed in Russia, where the number of bookings increased more than two-fold compared to last year’s numbers, as per Spring Tour’s booking platform. Furthermore, many flights to Northern Europe saw rapid growth as well. What was a key factor for this surge? Visa regulations!
Since December, the Russians have introduced a visa-free access policy for travelers from China and certainly, that change has worked well for them. A statement from Sienna Parulis-Cook with Dragon Trail Research indicated the visa waiver program would further increase visitor numbers to Russia, for the remainder of 2023.
Visits to Australia increased by more than 100% year-over-year during the same period, according to Trip.com Group. That’s a significant increase! And despite the gloomy outlook regarding the economy due to a depressed real estate market and continuing uncertainties due to job losses from the pandemic, travelers appear to be taking advantage of the longer holiday break, without hesitation.
On the domestic side, the travel market has two distinct segments, either travelling to warm beach destinations like Hainan Island, or cold-weather destinations like Changbai in the mountains. Some people wish to escape to warm beaches; other people wish to see snowy mountain landscapes. Regardless, there is intercommunity activity nationwide!
The analytics show a major push in airlines to capture the increase (9%) in capability to give seats on international flights during the holiday period. They were prepared to provide for a strong increase in year over year demand.
Thailand, Russia, Australia and South Korea saw continued strong growth. In contrast, Japan’s increase was not. Tensions between the Chinese and the Japanese are clearly affecting the willingness for travel to Japan. For example, the Flight Master data indicates that flights between these two countries have been reduced by almost fifty percent (50%) (February 2).
In addition, there were fifty-eight (58) flight routes which operated last year during the Spring Festival; this year they were all canceled.
This is a significant change in air travel in a short period of time. Just last year, Japan was one of the top travel destinations for the Chinese.
This year, with the release of the Lunar New Year travel boom, Chinese tourists have increased spending on travel, flying, and exploring. Destinations with warmer climates are very strong. Destinations with an easier access to a visa will see an increase in visitors. Long-haul flights are also increasing for travelers.
Geopolitical issues also have a major impact on travel. A policy change could lead to an immediate doubling of bookings. A new political issue could lead to a fifty percent (50%) cancellation of flight routes.
Overall, the Year of the Horse started with a large number of travelers from China, but the international travel market has been reconfigured through political changes across the globe.
