Chinese head abroad for annual Spring Festival

As people around the world celebrate Chinese New Year, the travel industry is getting ready for the Spring Festival – the country’s most important holiday.

According to China’s Ministry of Transport1, a total of 2.8 billion trips are expected to be made by Chinese people during the Spring Festival travel rush this year, 3.4 percent higher than the previous year. The China Tourism Academy2 estimates that about 60% of Chinese tourists intend to go abroad this year.

Kuoni Group Travel Experts and GTA provide businesses selling group and fully independent travel with accommodation and services. Both help many Chinese enjoy the world’s destinations whether they are travelling independently or as part of a larger group and have seen outbound travel from China increase steadily year on year. More and more Chinese want to explore destinations beyond Asia and rely on our expertise to make their trips memorable.

Thousands of Chinese travel in groups and Kuoni Group Travel Experts are helping them explore Europe for Spring Festival this year. France is their top destination, followed closely by Italy. Switzerland, Germany and Spain complete the top five most popular destinations for China’s group travellers this year.

GTA, the brand serving fully independent travel (FIT) businesses, reports that Thailand is the number one choice for Chinese tourists heading abroad for Spring Festival this year, helped by pent up demand after a tumultuous year for the destination. Independent travellers are booking closer to home this year with Hong Kong and Singapore following Thailand. Italy is the only European destination to make it into the top five, after Australia.