Chinese tourists returned to outbound travel during the recent Year of the Dragon break as a range of data showed that the number of overseas transactions and tour bookings by Chinese citizens rebounded to the pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019. 

According to an Alipay email sent to TechNode, overseas transactions by users of the mobile payment platform from Feb. 9 to 12 were up 7% compared to 2019, with Hong Kong, Japan, and Macao being the top destinations for Chinese travelers based upon their Alipay spending.

Why it matters: By the numbers, China’s overseas tourism is making a solid recovery a year after the country’s authorities removed Covid-19 related restrictions on its citizens traveling abroad following more than three years of almost-closed borders. Major Southeast Asian countries loosening visa requirements for Chinese tourists has also had an impact.

Details: Chinese visitors could be spotted in more than 1,700 cities in 125 countries, said Beijing-headquartered online travel agency Qunar, ranging as far as Madagascar and Cuba. 

• Flight bookings to Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore – three Southeast Asian countries that have recently waived visas for Chinese passport holders – have seen a huge surge on Qunar. Singapore leads the rise with a year-on-year growth of 2,900%.
• The return in popularity of overseas destinations comes as some domestic hotspots experienced travel issues. As the end of the national holiday loomed, a number of tourists found themselves “trapped” on Hainan island, one of China’s most popular tourist destinations, due to high-priced air tickets and congested roads during their return journeys. Many netizens joked, “Can’t afford to go to Hainan, but Southeast Asia is more cost-effective.” 
• Despite the eight-day holiday fueling long-distance outbound trips, overseas consumer spending made through Alipay only recovered to 82% of its 2019 level. Meanwhile, the enthusiasm for using messaging app WeChat to send digital versions of the red envelopes traditionally gifted around Lunar New Year cooled on Chinese New Year’s Eve on Feb. 9, as users sent and grabbed 5.27 billion WeChat red packets, significantly lower than the 14.2 billion sent seven years ago, the last time the Tencent-owned superapp released such data.

Context: The China Tourism Academy predicted earlier this month that the number of outbound tourists from the country in 2024 will reach 130 million, 50% up from the previous year.