Chinese Outbound Tourism: The View from FITUR

From 22-25 January 2025 in Madrid, FITUR brought together 155,000 travel trade professionals from 156 countries, for a celebration of international tourism and an exchange of ideas and information to take the tourism industry forward

As the world’s biggest international travel trade fair, FITUR provides an opportunity to check in with destinations all over the globe about the state of the Chinese outbound tourism market, as well as what tourism boards are doing to reach this market. This January, Dragon Trail attended FITUR on behalf of our sister brand, Chinese travel trade media Travel Marketing Watch, and met with exhibitors from across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Our overall impression is that Chinese tourism has entered into a new era, and it’s not enough to simply compare visitor numbers with those of 2019.  There are many opportunities now, and tourism boards are well aware of the high potential of the Chinese market – but it’s also not an easy market, especially for those who withdrew from it during the COVID years or are total newcomers.

Here are four main takeaways about Chinese long-haul outbound tourism and tourism marketing from FITUR 2025, alongside suggestions for destinations and tourism brands facing similar situations.

1) The Chinese tourism market is back, and so is destination marketing

Until quite recently, exhibitors at international tourism trade fairs tended to say they were still waiting for the Chinese tourism market to return post-pandemic, or that the recovery had started but still had a way to go. The general consensus from exhibitors at FITUR is that Chinese tourism is back, and has “more or less” reached pre-pandemic levels. Although recovery and growth around the world has been uneven, this sentiment about market recovery was shared by a very diverse array of destinations, spanning multiple continents.

In Namibia, Chinese tourism is back to 95% of pre-pandemic levels, according to Charmaine Matheus, acting CEO and executive head of marketing for the Namibian Tourism Board. In Dubrovnik, Croatia, it’s “getting there” says Lucija Vezilic. In nearby Zagreb, Tea Šeremet says recovery is going well. The situation is similar in both Brazil and Georgia.

Tourism boards are also scaling up their marketing efforts for China, sometimes after a pause of several years. Brazil is reentering the market this year, says Head of Digital Communications for Embratur Arturo Juliano, as a top-level government initiative to increase the numbers of Chinese visitors. The Brazilian tourism board is planning to relaunch Chinese digital channels and attend ITB Shanghai, and they’re organizing FAM trips for media and influencers to Rio de Janeiro, as well as areas of natural beauty and ecotourism in Brazil, such as Iguazu Falls and Pantanal – the world’s largest tropical wetland.

Brazil is organizing Chinese FAM trips to visit areas of natural beauty like the Pantanal Wetlands. Photo by Desert Morocco Adventure for Unsplash

“China is a target market,” says Masho Bojgua, Head of the Georgian National Tourism Administration. Georgia’s tourism board has also been organizing press trips around the country, as well as road shows in China, and they plan to attend ITB in Shanghai.

China is also “a key focus” for Namibia, especially with the future potential for visa-free travel, recently discussed by Namibia’s president during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Namibia’s tourism board did a four-city roadshow in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Guangzhou last year, and they run an active WeChat account. They’re looking into attending exhibitions in the future, as well as other ways to expand their network and reach, says Matheus.

2) Chinese long-haul tourists: Older, looking for quality, opting for group travel

Chinese travelers to long-haul tourism destinations tend to be slightly older, ranging from around 30-60 years old, according to tourism professionals from Costa Rica, Croatia, Georgia, and Namibia.

“Namibia is a country for people seeking exclusivity and privacy,” says Matheus, explaining that their strategy is to focus on low-volume and high-end tourism, therefore attracting independent travelers and private groups – as well as investors – from China. Bled Bedalli, from the Albanian tourism board, also shared his impression that Chinese tourists are seeking luxury travel experiences. “They’re elite, big spenders, looking for the highest quality,” he says.

Group travel is not uncommon for long-haul destinations. In Costa Rica, Chinese visitors usually travel in groups of 10-15 people, says Evelyn Figueroa from the tourism board. In Dubrovnik, it’s mostly groups of around 20 people. And in Georgia, group size is definitely “more than 10” says Bojgua, estimating that most Chinese tour groups include around 25-30 people.

3) Chinese tourists have a strong interest in international cultures, cuisines

Although its stunning and diverse landscapes and wildlife are certainly a draw, Matheus says that Chinese visitors to Nambia are interested most in culture and heritage, “visiting local communities to have an authentic experience.” She also notes that gastronomy is more in demand in with this market.

In Costa Rica, Figueroa also says that Chinese visitors are interested in gastronomy, as well as buying lots of souvenirs. They like visiting national parks, she says, but not sunny beaches.

Chinese tourists love learning about local wines in Georgia. Photo by Alexandra Torro for Unsplash

“They’re in love with Georgian wine,” says Bojgua, explaining that Chinese tourists are very interested in visiting wine cellars and having wine tasting experiences, as well as visiting UNESCO World Heritage sites, nature, and spa wellness.

In Croatia, culture is a big draw as well, with Chinese tourists visiting siteseeing attractions and museums in Dubrovnik and Zagreb, as well as traveling to see the natural beauty of the country’s lakes and coastline.

4) Market entry isn’t easy

With its large traveler numbers and high spending potential, the Chinese outbound tourism market offers huge potential to global destinations, but it’s not easy to get started.

Tourism professionals from newcomer destinations like Albania and Armenia expressed frustration in trying to understand China’s traveler profiles and preferences, as well as what steps they should take to develop products and promote them in the market. Language barriers as well as underdeveloped air connectivity are also hurdles to overcome. For tourism boards like these that are just getting started, we recommend developing a deeper understanding of the Chinese market through Dragon Trail’s consumer sentiment reports, travel trade surveys, and other market intelligence regularly shared on our website and social channels. Furthermore, we strongly advise visiting China and attending a travel trade fair as a starting point for connecting with the Chinese travel trade, sharing destination information, and developing the most suitable products.

Destinations like Albania are just getting started with their market outreach for China

China’s unique digital landscape is also tricky for overseas tourism brands to navigate. Brazil has not been active on Chinese digital platforms since 2018 but plans to relaunch these this year – Juliano admitted that it’s challenging to activate Chinese social platforms and a Chinese website. In this case, we recommend working with a China-based digital marketing agency that has strong experience in getting social media accounts registered and verified, as well as Chinese website hosting and ICP registration – in addition to a proven record of content creation to effectively reach Chinese consumers and the travel trade.

With 15 years of experience in the market, Dragon Trail offers a full suite of services for B2B and B2C tourism marketing in China, including social media marketing and web development, travel agent training, events, market representation, research, and strategy consulting. Read more about our services and case studies of our work, and contact us at info@dragontrail.com.