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17 June 2009
Taipei
Despite a global economic downturn that has been impacting China since late 2008, Chinese consumers continue to show strong interest in travelling out of China in 2009, according to the latest China Outbound Travel Monitor from The Nielsen Company.
The latest Nielsen China Outbound Travel Monitor reveals that the majority (85%) of Chinese travelers will ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ travel again outside China within the next 12 months, either for leisure or business. Conducted in January and February 2009, the Nielsen China Outbound Travel Monitor also showed that even among non-travelers, 78 percent expressed their intention to travel within the coming year, up 19 percentage points from 59 in 2007.
“Since the beginning of the global economic slowdown last year, the hottest topic is always where the next big opportunity lies. The Nielsen China Outbound Travel Monitor shows that the Chinese outbound travel market continues to boom, even under current financial pressures, and is likely to grow further. The interest lies not only among experienced travelers, but also among novice travelers. Our survey reflects the strength of the industry and should be a confidence boost to the travel industry,” said Dr. Grace Pan, Head of Travel and Leisure Research, The Nielsen Company, China.
Short-haul outbound trips are the most popular, with more than six in 10 Chinese travelers intending to take outbound trips in Asia, followed by Europe (43%), Oceanic (24%), North America (20%).
Looking at individual markets, Hong Kong sits at the top of the list, with nearly five in 10 potential Chinese outbound travelers expressing interest in visiting in the next 12 months. Macau (31%) came second, with Taiwan (27%) the “shining” star jumping up into the third position, thanks to a recent agreement that allows Mainland Chinese to travel to Taiwan in groups. Since the policy was issued in July 2008, Taiwan has already become one of the top travel destinations in 2008, and travel to Taiwan has increased significantly, from three percent in 2007 to six percent in 2008 among Chinese travelers, becoming one of the top five destinations in 2008. In 2008, Taiwan also, for the first time, joined the list of the top ten destination based on travel satisfaction.
“The scheduled direct flights agreement across the strait will be effective in late June. The Taiwan government is also considering welcoming smaller tour groups from Mainland China and free and independent Chinese travellers in the future. If the policy is confirmed, it will attract even more Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan. Therefore, Taiwan's tourist industry has to give serious thoughts on improving the service quality, and the Taiwan government has to upgrade the infrastructure to better meet Chinese travelers’ needs and satisfaction,” Paul Huang, Associate Director, The Nielsen Company Taiwan Ltd. suggested.
“Historic ties with Taiwan make it a destination of much interest to Mainland Chinese, a destination that has been ‘separate and banned from travel’ to them for many years. We expect to see tremendous growth potential for the travel market to Taiwan in the years to come,” added Dr. Pan.
ABOUT THE NIELSEN CHINA OUTBOUND TRAVEL MONITOR
The Nielsen China Outbound Travel Monitor highlights Chinese leisure and business travelers' behaviour, attitudes and opinions of various destinations, and includes comprehensive topics such as decision making process, information sourcing, booking choices, accommodation and more. Using a combination of telephone and online interviews, the Outbound Travel Monitor covers Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and a further 23 cities in China. In addition, exclusive data on media expenditure by travel destinations, covering TV, magazines, newspapers and Internet in China and Share of voice (SOV) in different cities and regions in China are added in the 2009 report to help marketers develop effective marketing strategies to win Chinese consumers, and gain insights for tactical plans to communicate with target segments.
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com
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