Changes in China travel trends for overseas tourists: from classic check-in to in-depth experience and technology travel

China News Service, Beijing, October 5 (Song Xueqing) The Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses... these classic attractions have always been popular choices for overseas tourists to travel to China. Now, their journey to China is becoming more enriched.

As the entry facilitation policy continues to advance, the countries of origin of overseas tourists have become more diverse, travel time in China has been extended, and travel methods have extended from the classic "check-in" to in-depth experiences.

Not only have “been to China”, but also want to “stay for a few more days”

"In early September this year, the number of inbound tourists received by travel agencies increased by about 30% compared with the same period last year." Li Mengran, media public relations manager of Uoxin Travel Group, said, "In recent years, the source countries of overseas tourists have become more and more diversified, and they all want to come to China." According to her, from the perspective of source of tourists, the growth of tourists from Russia, Central Asian countries and Southeast Asia is more obvious, while Europe, the United States, Canada and other European and American tourists are also increasing.

Xiang Minqi, a German-speaking tour guide who works for a foreign-funded travel agency and has been in the industry for 18 years, also feels this change. She said that in the past two years, the visa-free policy has brought obvious benefits to inbound tourism. According to the actual reception of her travel agency, after the unilateral visa-free stay period was extended to 30 days, the number of group travelers and individual travelers increased significantly.

However, the policy benefits go beyond simply extending travel time.

Xiang Minqi observed that even though the visa-free stay period was short before, many European tourists chose to travel to China for more than ten days. In her view, the visa-free policy first improves the convenience of traveling to China and also enhances the cost advantage of inbound tourism products. At the same time, it also gives families and independent tourists the possibility to "go wherever they want".

The changes in travel agency products are more intuitive. Li Mengran said that in the past, Beijing inbound tourism products were usually arranged for three or four days, focusing on classic attractions such as the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, and the Great Wall. Nowadays, a trip to Beijing has been extended to seven or eight days, and there have been subdivided products such as ancient capital tours and leisure sightseeing tours.

Overseas bloggers act as “tourism experience officers”

In Xiang Minqi's view, inbound tourists can be roughly divided into several categories: one is check-in tourists who are influenced by friends, social media, etc.; the other is tourists who are interested in Chinese culture and have already been to China. They are more willing to look for niche and in-depth travel products; in addition, there are some tourists with personalized needs.

Classic routes still occupy an important position in inbound tourism. Among the German tourists Xiang Minqi receives, classic routes such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi'an are still popular, with about 60% of tourists choosing such check-in routes.

However, "checking in" does not mean that the travel content remains unchanged. Travel agencies are trying to combine these traditional destinations with experiences.

Li Mengran further explained that the inbound tour autumn product will arrange accommodation in Gubei Water Town in Beijing, climb the Great Wall at night and watch light shows, allowing tourists to experience a different way of traveling than climbing the Great Wall during the day; the Chengdu route in the southwest region will arrange the representative Sichuan Opera face-changing experience, and the Yunnan route will offer tea picking and tea making experiences. “Overseas tourists love the experience,” Li Mengran said.

Different customer source markets also have different preferences. Xiang Minqi introduced that for tourists who have already been to China, the appeal of niche destinations is increasing. "This type of tourists will choose second- and third-tier cities, such as Luoyang in Henan, Dujiangyan in Chengdu, Yangshuo in Guilin, etc." Li Mengran observed that tourists from Southeast Asia and South Korea prefer places such as Zhangjiajie in Hunan and Kashgar in Xinjiang; European and American tourists pay more attention to humanities, history and historical sites.

The “grass planting” of overseas social media is also affecting the choice of travel destinations.

Xiang Minqi once encountered overseas tourists holding photos of restaurants posted by bloggers and expressing their wish to check in with the same style. "I've been paying attention to the local tourism market for many years, but I've almost never heard of it." Later, she checked and found out that this restaurant was already quite popular abroad. In her opinion, overseas bloggers are playing the role of "tourism experience officers" and influencing other tourists' destination choices.

Overseas tourists’ consumption interests in China are expanding into more diverse areas. "Purchasing Chinese cheongsam, Chinese liquor, and Panda Cultural and Creative Products are not new, but electronic products such as Xiaomi and Huawei, and even outdoor sports equipment such as bicycles, have all appeared on the purchase list of overseas tourists." Li Mengran said.

Technology tourism becomes a popular option

China's technology industry and digital life are becoming important windows for overseas tourists to understand China.

"Technology tourism is relatively hot this year." Li Mengran said that in recent years, overseas business groups have added arrangements to visit humanoid robot and drone companies in their itineraries in China. Behind this demand is the promotion of economic and trade exchanges. "China's embodied intelligence is developing rapidly, and business people from many countries want to visit and study in China." Li Mengran said.

Among the overseas tourists Xiang Minqi receives, there are also cases where they are actively looking for itineraries with Chinese science and technology themes. She said that robots and driverless driving are areas of greater concern this year. After completing group itineraries, some tourists will abandon traditional attractions and choose to travel independently to the World Robot Conference in Yizhuang, Beijing.

Mobile payment, online ride-hailing, hotel delivery robots, etc. have also become new windows for overseas tourists to observe daily life in China. Xiang Minqi introduced that some tourists will download WeChat and Alipay before departure to take taxis and subways in China; delivery robots in hotels and restaurants often attract them to take photos, experience and share them on social media.

This kind of "technological experience" is gradually integrated into daily travel. Xiang Minqi once encountered overseas tourists who lost their belongings and delivered them to the airport through intra-city delivery. Some tourists also purchased emergency daily necessities through takeout.

"They were so shocked." Xiang Minqi said, "At this time, they felt very proud."