The Top Chinese Travel Trends to Watch for in 2015

China has been having a transformative impact on the way the global travel industry operates, finances, and markets itself, and 2015 promises to be a year where brands and organizations marketing to Chinese start looking at them as travelers, beyond just shoppers. That's according to a great list of top trends put together by Gary Bowerman, author of the recent business book, "The New Chinese Traveler: Business Opportunities from the Chinese Travel Revolution." We have extracted these 12 trends he talks about, below, worth reading in full: A Broader Destination Spread: More than 100 million outbound border crossings were made from China in the first 11 months of 2014. Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan accounted for 70%, and 89% of Chinese travelers stayed within Asia. The mass of Chinese travel will remain Asia-based, but experienced travelers will take advantage of more direct flight routes to a greater spread of destinations. The major online travel agencies in China, meanwhile, will be fighting hard for a greater share of outbound bookings. Visa-free Access Goes Global: Although China ranks low (tied for 83rd with Jordan and Comoros) on the Henley & Partners 2014 Visa Restrictions Index, the number of countries to which Chinese travelers can visit more easily will rise in 2015 as more governments and tourism boards integrate visa-free access into their China tourism strategies. Chinese Firms to Buy More Tourism As