Chinese New Year or how to seduce the star of shopping tourism

The most valued tourist in the world travels during the Chinese New Year. Tomorrow one of the biggest celebration in the Chinese calendar will begin, and for this reason, hundreds of thousands of citizens of the country will take the opportunity to travel. Spain has doubled the income of Chinese tourists over the last two years. In 2018, these travellers spent in the country 1.31 billion euros compared to 674 million euros in 2016.

It is estimated that Chinese citizens will make up to 3 billion trips this year on the occasion of the New Year, according to data from the Government of the country. The largest travel agency in China, Ctrip.com, the second in the world by revenue, estimates that during this festive period it will provide 390 million internal trips, but also 7 million international trips.

Thailand, Japan and Indonesia are the main preferred destinations for Chinese tourists during the Chinese New Year, but they increasingly book long-distance trips to the United States and Europe. Chinese has become the ideal tourist of the world for the expense it generates in their travels. In 2017, such citizens made 131 million trips abroad and spent a total of 250 million dollars, according to a study by McKinsey.

Spain shot up between 2016 and 2018 the influx of Chinese tourists, with a rise of 73%, until nearly 650,000 visitors

In Spain, the number of Chinese tourists has shot up by 73% in the last two years, according to the latest data from Tourist Movements in Borders, collected by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). In 2018, the country reached 650,000 travellers from China, compared to about 375,000 in 2016. The revenues generated by Chinese tourism in the Spanish market in this period have doubled.

On the other hand, the average expenditure of Chinese tourists in Spain stood at 2,563 euros last year, being the highest of all the travellers who visited the country. The average consumption of Chinese citizens was higher than that of the Japanese, at 2,161 euros, and of the US, at 1,776 euros, according to the Tourist Expenditure Survey (Egatur) by the INE.

Despite this, Chinese tourists still generate only 0.7% of the total income of the sector. “The data show that deseasonalizing demand and increasing spending per tourist means prioritizing the acquisition of long-distance tourists, compared to traditional European markets,” notes Luis Llorca, Country Manager of Global Blue, a tax-free operator, in a statement.

The average expenditure of Chinese tourists in Spain stood at 2,563 euros last year, compared to that of the Japanese, at 2,161 euros, and of the US, at 1,776 euros

The attraction of this type of tourists would also accelerate the deseasonalization of tourism, since the profile of the foreigner who visits Spain responds, mainly, with the citizen of the European Union who travels mainly in summer and has a budget for his stay of one thousand euros.

On his behalf, Jorge Esteban, Country Manager of Planet, international provider of tax-free services, said at the Fitur tourism fair that it is the new Chinese Z generation the one that generates a greater volume of spending. According to the manager, their average transaction value is 1,839 euros.

“This fact predicts a great future for the tourist destination that draws the attention and fosters loyalty with the Chinese traveller through a unique experience from the moment they organize the trip and decide their destination, during their stay in it and until they go back home,” points out Esteban.