This article was first published on April 9, 2020.
China’s travel industry starts to show signs of recovery, with the COVID-19 outbreak being effectively controlled domestically. In this context, Oliver Wyman conducted a consumer survey in March, 2020 to reveal the trends and changes happening to the behavior of Chinese travelers.
Despite people having to suspend their travel plans at present, in the long run, most people’s travel plans have not been fundamentally affected. In fact, nearly 60 percent will not change their plans and may even have more trips for the remainder of the year, and most are also willing to increase their travel budgets.
The survey also finds that Chinese travelers are increasingly preferring domestic tourism currently, as 77 percent of Chinese travelers would consider domestic destinations for their first trip after the COVID-19 epidemic subsides.
We believe it reflects people’s optimism that the domestic epidemic is under control, and more importantly, their willingness and eagerness for travel – it sets a positive tone for the recovery of the tourism industry.
In the context of the COVID-19 outbreak, travelers have started to take into account their health risk exposures when choosing their next destinations. We believe that the increased cautiousness among Chinese travelers brings opportunities for the tourism industry.
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