Skift Take
The buzz around Chinese travel spend is certainly warranted but let's not forget the Americans and Germans, to name a few.
Convincing Chinese tourists to spend more on lodging abroad during the next five years won’t be easy because their priority as a group is shopping for luxury goods.
That’s the view of Euromonitor, which released statistics projecting that Chinese tourists will remain the world’s biggest spenders on outbound travel through 2019. Chinese already spend the most on international trips ($145 billion last year) and by 2019 Chinese travelers are projected to spend more than $245 billion abroad.
For 2015, the data indicate overall Chinese outbound spending will increase 9.6% year-over-year to $154 billion, one of the largest spending growth rates for outbound travel.
The biggest spenders distinction doesn’t equate to the most traveled: it was German tourists making the most trips in 2014 (95.6 million trips) and China (63.8 million trips) was behind the U.S. and U.K.
Euromonitor’s research only accounted for trips longer than 24 hours. If such day trips were included, the trip totals would be much higher but wouldn’t change where the relative ranking of Chinese travelers, said Caroline Bremner, head of travel for Euromonitor. Bremner adds German travelers spend the most on accommodations ($39.1 billion projected for this year).
“There will be a slowdown of the Chinese economy by 2019 which will have an effect on Chinese tourist spending but growth rates are still strong compared to advanced markets, said Bremner. “Chinese spending growth rates will be more than 10% but definitely we’ll see slower growth in lodging compared to all other categories.”
“Lodging is not the absolute priority with the Chinese,” Bremner said. “Traveling to the destination and enjoying the destination and spending there is the priority. The Chinese definitely have a different take on outbound spending. Indian outbound travelers, for example, spend a lot more on their lodging.”
Below are two charts breaking down the countries expected to see the most growth number of outbound trips and outbound travel spending through 2019.
Countries With the Most Outbound Trips 2014-2019
| Country | 2014 Total Trips | 2019 Total Trips | % Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 1.1 billion | 1.3 billion | 18.10% |
| Germany | 95.6 million | 108.4 million | 13.30% |
| USA | 85.4 million | 105.8 million | 23.80% |
| United Kingdom | 76.01 million | 91.4 million | 20.25% |
| China | 63.8 million | 90.8 million | 42.30% |
| France | 47.2 million | 53.4 million | 13.10% |
Countries Spending the Most on Outbound Travel 2014-2019
| Country | 2014 Spending ($) | 2019 Spending ($) | % Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 1.1 trillion | 1.7 trillion | 54.50% |
| China | 145.7 billion | 245.5 billion | 68.90% |
| USA | 112.2 billion | 154.6 billion | 37.70% |
| Germany | 94.9 billion | 117.4 billion | 23.70% |
| United Kingdom | 58.8 billion | 78.4 billion | 33.30% |
| France | 44.20 | 53.4 billion | 20.80% |
Source: Euromonitor
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Tags: china, euromonitor, skiftstats
Photo credit: Chinese shoppers stand with shopping bags on a sidewalk along 5th Avenue in New York City. Mike Segar / Reuters