Studies

 

2025 Chinese New Year Travel Forecast

2024/12/12

Will travel industry recover in 2023?

 

This article will predict travel trends based on Chinese consumers' overseas travel plans during the Chinese New Year. Through this analysis, we offer actionable insights to empower travel and tourism businesses to capitalize on this valuable market opportunity.

China's long holidays, like summer vacation and Chinese New Year, drive peak travel demand. The 2024 Chinese New Year has drawn particular attention in China as the first celebration without pandemic restrictions, with overseas travel bookings on Fliggy surging by about 10 times year-on-year.

With just two months until the 2025 Chinese New Year, how can travel and tourism companies capitalize on this growing demand? This article predicts travel trends based on Chinese consumers' overseas plans and offers practical insights to help businesses seize this lucrative opportunity.
 

  Key Findings

  • Approximately 80% are planning or considering overseas travel for Chinese New Year.
  • The most popular travel destinations are dominated by countries neighboring China.
  • The most popular form of travel is a package that offers complete flexibility throughout the journey.

 

 

Chinese New Year Travel Intention Trend

Approximately 80% are planning or considering overseas travel for Chinese New Year.

Regarding overseas travel during next year's Chinese New Year, 77.6% of respondents said they were planning or considering traveling abroad. Among them, 68.5% traveled overseas in the summer, and approximately 70% took advantage of the long holidays to travel overseas at least twice a year (or planning to do so).

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Japan tops as the most sought-after travel destination, with neighboring countries around China also ranking among the top choices for travelers.

Japan, which has enjoyed unwavering popularity until now, continued to demonstrate its popularity in this survey. Additionally, similar to summer travel, surrounding countries such as Thailand and Singapore were also at the top of the list for travel during the Chinese New Year.

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Also, Looking at the Chinese New Year travel destinations Top3 results by gender, we find Japan's popularity is biased toward men, Singapore's popularity is biased towards women, and Hong Kong's gender ratio is almost even. Considering this point, Hong Kong may be chosen as an attractive travel destination regardless of gender. There are no significant differences between the age groups.

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''Safety,'' ''Sightseeing attractions,'' and ''Nature'' are the deciding factors when choosing a travel destination.

Safety and security, as well as being rich in tourist attractions, tended to rank highly as reasons for choosing the top five most popular travel destinations. Japan (1st) and Singapore (2nd) also highlighted "Beautiful nature," while Hong Kong (3rd) stood out for "Tourist/accommodation facilities" and "Instagrammable spots," appealing widely across genders.

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Approximately 40% of people travel specifically for family vacations.

As for the purpose of traveling abroad, the highest percentage of respondents for the summer and Chinese New Year was “Family trip (to make memories with family, to fulfill filial piety to parents)'' (36.1%), followed by “Relaxation and refreshment'' (27.7%). This result suggests a strong tendency for people to travel with their families or multiple people during this period. The traditional event of the Chinese New Year may be pushing up the proportion of family trips, with many travelers choosing to travel abroad to spend this time with their families.

Additionally, approximately one in five travelers who chose to travel with their family planned or wanted to experience food culture, indicating that they place importance on enjoying meals as a family during their trip.
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The most popular form of travel is a package tour with a fully customizable itinerary.

Regarding the form of travel application, ''Fully Free-Itinerary Package Tour'' was the most popular at 30.9%, followed by ''Group Travel (Partially Free Itinerary)'' at 24.6%. This result suggests that travelers seek a certain degree of freedom when traveling.

In addition, it has been revealed that in about half of the travelers who chose the entire itinerary-free plan, the primary source of information is the "Websites of travel agencies (including online travel agencies)." This shows that online platforms are becoming increasingly important in travel planning. On the other hand, "Social media (23.7%)" came in second place, and there is also a tendency for users to refer to personal reviews and actual experiences.
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The 3 Winning Strategies to Attract Chinese Travelers During Chinese New Year

To take full advantage of the increased demand for travel during the Chinese New Year, businesses in the travel and tourism industry should consider implementing the following strategies:

  1. Enhancement of family travel plans: Develop packages centered around themes like “filial piety'' and “making memories with family,'' offering experiences such as culinary adventures that everyone can enjoy together and relaxing itineraries for the whole family.
  2. Offer seasonal special experience plans: Since the demand for specific activities and experiences is expected to slightly increase during Chinese New Year travel compared to the summer season, create exclusive plans that include winter-specific experiences to provide travelers with unique value.
  3. Utilization of online travel agencies and Social media: Publish travel plans on online platforms such as Ctrip and Qunar, and promote word-of-mouth sharing on major Chinese social media platforms like WeChat and Weibo. Enhance online visibility to boost booking rates.

 

 

Achieving Success Through Data-Driven Strategies

Developing successful initiatives requires a clear and accurate understanding of traveler needs and behavior. As introduced in this article, analysis of travel trends and behavior patterns will provide a concrete direction for your company's strategy. However, more detailed research and feedback on the target audience is required to translate this into actual measures.

GMO Research & AI has a vast network in 16 countries/regions in Asia, including China. Through our network, we offer support to help you conduct effective investigations using our Custom Survey or Quick Survey.

 

 


Survey Theme: Chinese New Year Travel Survey
Survey Regions: China
Survey Participants: 246 men and women aged 15-49
Survey Period: November 11 - 18, 2024
Survey Method: Internet survey (closed survey)

 

 

Chinese New Year travel 2025 Overseas travel Chinese tourism trends Asia travel market insights Tourism strategies

What are the repeat travelers like?

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In 2025, 54.4% of those planning to an overseas travel during Chinese New Year were repeat travelers. Let’s dive deeper into understanding repeat travelers, who hold the key to business growth for travel and tourism companies.
*Repeat Travelers: People who revisit countries they have traveled to at least once in the past (regardless of the time of year) during the 2025 Chinese New Year.

 

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