”The ’new Chinese traveller’ is young, wealthy, better educated, urban and technologically skilled in social media and internet usage but remains price-sensitive,” Valeria Croce, head of research at the European Travel Commission, told forum participants. When travelling, they want to get away from old-fashioned group tours and are more interested in individual experiences, she explained.
The overwhelming majority (70%) of Chinese travellers remain ’traditionalists’ who are most interested in visiting famous places and attractions in Europe, she confirmed. However, there are other emerging ’travel tribes’ with other interests, according to ETC research, she pointed out. About 10% are ’Wenyi youth’ travellers who are socially-oriented and interested in personal experiences, for example, while about 7% are ’connoisseurs’ who focus on quality. A further 10% are active ’experience centred travellers’ who want to explore and discover.
Europe is an attractive destination for these Chinese tourists with its diversity of cultural and natural attractions, Croce underlined. Europe also has some unexpected advantages, including friendly people, good preservation of historic attractions, good shopping, safe and not over-crowded cities, and a clean environment including clear blue skies, she noted. But barriers still remain, such as complex visa procedures, relatively high prices, lower hotel standards and a lack of information in Chinese, she added.
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