Middle-class Chinese do more outbound travel
China News Agency | Apr. 14, 2006
"Outbound travel has become an important part of life for the middle class in the Asia-Pacific region, including China," said Dr. Wang Yuehun, chief economic consultant of MasterCard International in Asia-Pacific region. Wang added, "Trends of personal travel suggest that Asian travelers are flowing into distinct tourist markets, each of which reflects different lifestyles and unique preferences of those tourists."
The latest MasterIndex of Travel report shows that outbound travelers from across the Asia-Pacific region will keep on increasing in the first half of 2006, including 15.45 million Chinese tourists. Traveling in the Asia-Pacific region is very popular. This figure displays a trend of escalation compared to previous figures. Female travelers are playing a more and more obvious role as a new impetus of consumption in Asia.
A survey of China shows that 70% of Chinese tourists consider cash as the most important payment way when traveling, while 58% also use international credit cards, with the number displaying a trend of outrunning the former. More Chinese have started to use advanced payment ways, such as cash card and traveler's check.
However, Chinese travelers depend more upon travel agencies when they plan outbound journeys. The attraction of exotic scenery and lifestyle as well as the rapid increase of tourist destinations make Europe the top region mainland Chinese travelers want to go, chosen by 36% of the surveyed, followed by Australia and Hong Kong.
Moreover, destinations of mainland Chinese people's business travel concentrate in Asia. Hong Kong is the most frequently visited destination of business travelers, followed by Singapore, Japan and South Korea. The US ranks fifth with a proportion of only 10%.