Survey: China travel may take a year to recover

Data from the latest travel report by ITB China Travel Trends show that it’s possible – even likely – that the Chinese outbound travel market will take up to a year to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey of 200 Chinese outbound travel agents examined the anticipated travel behaviour of outbound Chinese tourists once the beginnings of recovery are seen.

The 2020 China Market Recovery Special Edition, a yearly publication, showed that 43% of 200 surveyed believe outbound travel will recover within the next 9 to 12 months at best, compared with 33% who say it will take 6 to 9 months; 20% believe it will take 3 to 6 months and only 4% say within the next 3 months. According to European Tourism Commission executive director Eduardo Santander…

“China was hit first, and should therefore be one of the first countries to recover, which would be positive for European-Chinese tourism cooperation. By the time Europe can get back to normal, China might be ready for long-haul travel again. We expect the European travel industry to recover in 2021.”

The survey showed that even with the suspension of business during the outbreak, travel agencies and travel-related companies have continued communicating with their customers; 66.5% say they communicate with stakeholders weekly, 16.5% share updates every 2 weeks, while 17% communicate on a monthly basis.

The complete version of the ITB China Travel Trends Report- The 2020 China Market Recovery Special Edition will be published on itb-china.com next month.

SOURCE: TTR Weekly