DELHI
A study by the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Oxford Economics, titled The Future of Chinese Travel, forecasts significant increases in demand for outbound travel from China over the next decade. India too is expected to gain major inbound tourist traction from the same. Tourists from China are expected to rise by over 30% by 2023 with the visa policy changing to provide easier and better access.
“More travelers means more tourism spend and we can expect both from inbound Chinese travellers over the coming decade,” said head of IHG South West Asia Shantha de Silva in a statement. “We know from the research that travel facilitation reforms can greatly impact the volume of travel into a country, and India’s new visa-on-arrival program will be a key factor in encouraging more Chinese travel into this amazing country.”
“The Indian government is placing more emphasis on enhancing its draw as a destination through infrastructure development, building up key tourist attractions and presenting a cleaner India through the national Swachh Bharat Abhiyan,” she added. “We are also aligned with this goal through our year-long pledge to support the Clean India campaign and our continued growth which will bring even more high-quality hotels to the country to help cater to the projected boom in Chinese travel.”
“This is a ground-breaking piece of research, which demonstrates the sheer scale of the ‘China outbound’ opportunity for cities and local economies worldwide,” said IHG CEO Richard Solomons.
“With the shift towards leisure travel, coupled with the 90 million Chinese households able to take long-haul trips by 2023, the country’s growing importance in the global travel market cannot be underestimated,” added Solomons.
The study found that 85 percent of Chinese outbound travelers are heading for major cities. By 2023, 88 million Chinese households will be able to travel overseas. On top of that, over 60 million Chinese households are expected to surpass the annual income threshold of $35,000. That’s significant in terms of being able to afford international travel. By 2020, China will overtake also the US, UK and Germany as the largest source market for international long-haul travelers.
Musafir Namah Bureau
