Chinese tourists spent 12% more in travelling abroad in 2016

With a 12 per cent increase in spending, China continued to lead international outbound tourism, followed by the US, Germany, the UK and France as top five spenders in 2016, according to the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

“The latest data on outbound tourism spending are very encouraging. Despite the many challenges of recent years, results of spending on travel abroad are consistent with the 4 per cent growth to 1.2 billion international tourist arrivals reported earlier this year for 2016. People continue to have a strong appetite for travel and this benefits many countries all around the world, translating into economic growth, job creation and opportunities for development,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

2016 was another strong year for outbound tourism from China, the world’s leading outbound market. Its international tourism expenditure grew by US$11 billion to $261 billion, an increase by 12 per cent. The number of outbound travellers rose 6 per cent to 135 million in 2016. This growth consolidates China’s position as number one source market in the world since 2012, following a trend of double-digit growth in tourism expenditure every year since 2004, the UNWTO statement said.

The growth in outbound travel from China benefited many destinations in Asia and the Pacific, most notably Japan, the Republic of Korea and Thailand, but also long-haul destinations such as the US and several in Europe.

Aside from China, three other Asian outbound markets among the first 10 showed very positive results. The Republic of Korea ($27 billion) and Australia ($27 billion) both spent 8 per cent more in 2016 and Hong Kong (China) entered the top 10 following 5 per cent growth in expenditure ($24 billion).

Meanwhile tourism spending from the US, the world’s second largest source market, increased 8 per cent in 2016 to $122 billion, up $9 billion from 2015. For a third year in a row, strong outbound demand was fuelled by a robust US dollar and economy. The number of US residents travelling to international destinations increased 8 per cent through November 2016 (74 million in 2015).

By contrast, Canada, the second source market from the Americas in the top 10, reported flat results, with $29 billion spent on international tourism, while the number of outbound overnight trips declined by 3 per cent to 31 million.

Germany, the UK, France and Italy led tourism spending in Europe. These four European markets reported growth in outbound demand last year. Germany, the world’s third largest market, reported 5 per cent growth in international tourism spending last year, rebounding from weaker figures in 2015, reaching $81 billion.