September 14, 2022

Cirium: Chinese Travelers Insights Report 2021

【Posted on: 2021 December】

Recently, Cirium released their latest Traveler Intelligence Report with specific focus on Chinese travelers.

Key findings include:

96% of Chinese citizens are either likely to fly in the future (75%) or would consider it but are currently unsure (21%)
81% intend to travel by air within the next 12 months.
Three-quarters (74%) of those intending to fly within the next 12months expected to book their ticket no more than two weeks from departure.
Leisure accounted for nearly three-quarters (73%) of proposed air travel.
44% claimed that they would return to former levels of air travel, while one-fifth intended to fly more frequently, post-pandemic.

More insights from the report:

The safety record is the most important factor influencing the choice of airline, followed closely by price and brand reputation.

Close to 2/3^rd of respondents(62%) said they would travel internationally within the next 1 year.

When asked their first choice of international destination, almost one- third (32%) selected South East Asia. Europe, Australia/New Zealand, and East Asia followed. The most popular international destinations outside of Asia were selected by a higher proportion of female respondents than males, while international destinations within Asia were more popular amongst the male respondents.

Singapore is rated as top destination (#2) for level of comfort as potential destination, while unsurprisingly Macau (#1) & Hong Kong (#2) are other top destinations.

Travelling with close family (54%) or partner/spouse(56%) is more likely post pandemic than before. A significantly higher proportion of 18-29 year olds had grown more likely to travel with friends, compared to the rest of the sample (45% vs 22%). The same was true for female respondents as compared to male respondents (33% vs 24%).