Wanderlust acquires new dimensions as tourist ideals change
The ping of an early morning email woke me up from a deep slumber.
Though annoyed at the early morning intrusion, curiosity prompted me to open the email and its attachment.
A quick look at the subject line and I saw that it was a fascinating study on the emerging facets of outbound travel from China conducted by one of my professional acquaintances, Jacco ter Schegget, CEO for South East Asia at J. Walter Thompson in Singapore.
Though I have been in China for more than a decade, my impressions of Chinese tour- ists have always been of the ubiquitous huge groups assembling under the umbrella of a tour guide and jostling with each other to take innumerable photographs of the sights around them.
The other scenario is that they are laden with shopping bags full of all kinds of luxury products.
Some of them even had bowls of instant noodles in their hands, as they did not want to be deprived of their choice food. In other words, the typical Chinese tourist was frugal, looking for bargains and wanted to travel in groups.
But Jacco’s email dispelled my notions as he had also attached the highly insightful China Outbound study conducted by JWT Intelligence earlier this year.
According to the JWT report, though some of the old characteristics still exist, there are six sets of new Chinese tourists who are increasingly changing the rules of the game.
“The most significant shift has been the emphasis on experiences, rather than being quantity-driven,” Jacco said.
According to a study conducted by financial firm Goldman Sachs, the total number of outbound tourists from China is expected to rise to 220 million in 2025, with twothirds of current outbound travelers being millennials in the 15-to-35 age group.
That compares with just 10.5 million outbound travelers in 2000 and 130 million last year.
The first and largest set of travelers is “filial travelers”, who belong to multigenerational groups and undertake tours to meet new people, learn about other cultures and spend quality time with family and friends.
“Travel is a great way for people in this category to bond, and their schedules are relaxed and not so rigid,” the JWT study said.
A significant shift is also being seen in China, with tourists going abroad for specific purposes such as weddings and medical treatment and also using the opportunity for tourism.
There are also those who look for adventure, largely male tourists, who want the adrenaline rush from activities such as diving, safaris or polar travel, and like to share their experiences on social media.
But the last two sets of tourists were the real eye-openers. The JWT study said an increasing number of Chinese tourists are traveling for food experiences.
Terming them “foodies”, it said their main interests are food and shopping. Most of them are urban travelers and students.
The last set of travelers is rather interesting as they are called “wander women”; young upwardly mobile women focused on their careers rather than marriage who enjoy meetings, shopping and entertainment. These people opt for structured tours or group tours.
But there were also some significant traits that are unique to China.
“Travelers are increasingly looking for local, real and immersive experiences. Yet they also want familiarity in language (e.g. Mandarinspeaking hotel staff ) and in payment methods (Alipay or WeChat Pay). They are not fluent in English and hence often look for places that enhance their comfort levels and a semblance of safety and security,” Jacco added.
According to a report by online travel agency Ctrip and the China Tourism Academy, the most popular destinations for Chinese tourists are Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, the United States and the Maldives.
Having read Jacco’s observations I was curious to understand the situation in my home country — India. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, India will have 50 million outbound tourists by 2020.
At present, about 25 million tourists from India travel abroad, compared with 8 million a decade ago.
“The travel market in India is growing at a double-digit rate, driven by the approximately 7 percent GDP growth over the past few years, rising middle-class incomes, changing attitudes toward spending, low airfares, group package tours and the easy availability of equated monthly installment options on travel bookings,” Sharat Dhall, chief operating officer of travel portal Yatra, said in a recent interview.
Though I do not know which category of travelers I belong to, one thing is for sure: for my next vacation I will probably be dancing at Machu Picchu or watching penguins and sea lions on the Galapagos Islands.
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