China outbound travel surges in 3Q2024

Outbound travel from China surged in 3Q2024, largely driven by leisure travel abroad during the National Day holiday 1-7 October. Mainland Chinese residents took 7.59 million trips during that week, up 33.2% from National Day 2023, and international outbound flights were up 38.2%.

Alibaba reports that outbound bookings for 1-7 October were up more than 50% vs. 2023, and bookings of overseas hotels were up 20% vs. National Day week 2019.

Asia-Pacific destinations including Japan,Thailand and Singapore - which offer more varied experiences and lower shopping prices than China - were the major beneficiaries of the 2024 outbound surge.

Wealthy individuals from top-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai were most likely to travel abroad during the National Day holiday, but bookings from 4th- and 5th-tier cities were up 100% from 2023.

Despite new policies making inbound travel easier and travel services accounting for 26.7% of China's service trade, high outbound travel spend resulted in a $140.5B trade deficit in 1H2024.

Comment: Note that USA wasn't a top destination during the National Day holiday. But maybe that's because a week is too short a time for a long-haul trip. Watch this space for updates.