Outbound passengers queue up to ascertain in at Yantai Penglai International Airport on February 9, 2023 in Yantai, Shandong Province of China.
Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific’s travel sector is seeing strong growth, with demand for flights set to match pre-pandemic levels this 12 months — due to Chinese tourists.
The region’s travel demand in December 2023 improved to almost 83% of 2019 numbers compared with just 57% in January, in keeping with the International Air Transport Association. These numbers are set to enhance.
“The environment in the intervening time stays positive for many airlines,” Willie Walsh, director general of the IATA told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Tuesday. Demand is “just somewhat bit shy” of pre-pandemic levels, and that goal is anticipated to be hit this 12 months, he added.
Experts imagine Chinese tourists will fuel this demand, particularly as they visit Southeast-Asian destinations inside the wider region.
Travel demand from Chinese tourists in Southeast Asia saw a notable rise in January, said James Sullivan, head of Asia-Pacific equity research at JPMorgan.
“You are still seeing strong inbound arrivals to other countries within the region, but from an incremental flow perspective, we expect ASEAN will likely be the web beneficiary,” Sullivan noted.
Research from Citi showed overall outbound China tourist numbers hit 3.6 million through the Lunar Latest Yr holidays from Feb. 10 to Feb. 17, with a majority travelling to ASEAN countries. Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia were their top 10 destinations.
Outside of Asia Pacific, the U.S., U.K., South Korea, Japan and Australia were popular holiday spots for Chinese travelers.
More Chinese residents traveled outside of China this Lunar Latest Yr compared with 2023, in keeping with data from travel analytics firm Cirium.
Thailand welcomed the best variety of Chinese tourists during this era, with flight bookings increasing four-fold to 149,159 this 12 months from 35,094 a 12 months earlier through the Lunar Latest Yr.
The variety of flights booked from China to Singapore surged by almost 6 times to 64,469 this 12 months from 10,873 in 2023.
“Visa-free initiatives introduced in recent months may very well be a contributing factor to the trend, with Thailand waiving visa requirements and Singapore offering 30 days visa-free travel for Chinese residents,” said June Lee, marketing director at Cirium,
She added that flights from China to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand are expected to extend by 87% from March to June compared with the identical period a 12 months earlier.