This year, a large number of Chinese tourists are expected to travel outside the mainland, as revealed by a new report and Hong Kong is among the leading tourist destinations.
By the end of 2016, about 133 million Chinese tourists would go for outbound trips. This has been mentioned in a report released by the China Tourism Academy as well as UnionPay International, a financial services company.
The number of outbound tourists would mark about 11.5 % rise from 2015.
The report has stated that the leading tourism locales for the Chinese tourists would be Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong. Also, the report said that the locales of Japan, South Korea and Thailand would follow closely.
Furthermore, the report also mentioned that Central Asia, South America and Eastern Europe are going to emerge as the popular outbound tourist destinations for Chinese tourists in the following years.
This is due to the fact that Chinese travellers are gradually becoming more interested in the local culture and lifestyle of the regions they travel rather than just shopping. They are also keen to get involved in the leisure activities that are sought after in these destinations.
Last year, Chinese tourists spent about US$104.5 billion overseas. This is also because several foreign nations have been relaxing their visa regulations for Chinese travellers.
A survey that was carried out by HSBC last month also indicated that there is an immense potential for Chinese tourists overseas. HSBC has also stated that in the following 10 years, the total number of outbound trips for China is likely to double.
About 2,000 people in the age group of 18 to 34 who had a household income of over HK$1,39,000 a pear participated in the HSBC poll last month.