China’s appetite for global travel sets stage for strong recovery in 2024

China’s growing desire for more international trips over the next 12 months is laying a solid foundation for a strong recovery in 2024. This message emerged from ITB China which recently concluded in Shanghai. The event gathered 10,000 attendees from the Chinese and global travel industry 'live' in Shanghai.

IPK’s findings from its latest surveys reflect a distinctly positive trend: China’s lust for travel is currently greater than in any of the two travel plan surveys carried out over the past two years. 
Keen travel plans over the next 12 months
The findings of the IPK’s latest travel survey show that China’s lust for travel is back: around 50% of interviewees aim to travel abroad over the next 12 months, and if possible more often than in the past. 

Europe tops the list of favourite destinations
With regard to their travel plans over the next 12 months, Chinese travellers’ preferred destinations are likely to be in Europe, followed by trips within Asia. 
Looking at the bigger picture, the question naturally also arises as to how pandemic-related restrictions and the significant decline in travel over the last three years will impact Chinese travel behaviour. .

According to IPK surveys, the positive trend in this outbound travel market will continue over the next 12 months, so that in the medium term there is a good chance of the market returning to 2019 levels in the foreseeable future. 

However, this process will take longer than in the large source markets of Europe and North America. The geopolitical impact on the issuing of visas and the slow growth of flight availability, coupled with high prices due to the closure of Russian air space, will to some extent dampen China’s lust for travel.