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South China Morning Post
12 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
More Chinese travelling to South Korea as memories of political chaos recede
Chinese tourism to South Korea is picking up with the end of political instability in Seoul and the two nations pledging closer relations shortly before visa exemptions take effect, travel industry sources said this week. Bookings from China – South Korea's largest source of foreign visitors – for the three months from April to June have been about 24 per cent higher than for the three months ending in February, according to data compiled by the travel marketing and technology company China Trading Desk. Bookings from China to South Korea for the three months from April to June have been about 24 per cent higher than for the three months ending in February, according to data compiled by China Trading Desk, a travel marketing and technology company. China is South Korea's largest source of foreign visitors. Chinese bookings rose just 7 per cent year on year in February, making it the slowest-growing month so far this year, the company said. China's annual Lunar New Year outbound travel boom ran from January 28 to February 4 this year. Between December 2 and 9, as the Korean political fracas unfolded, bookings from China to South Korea for January and February fell by 12 per cent, it said.
Mint
4 days ago
- Business
- Mint
China's Bankers Ditch Global Hotel Chains as Travel Budgets Bite
(Bloomberg) -- These days, Shanghai-based banker Jason Zhang can no longer stay at the Westin hotel in downtown Beijing's financial district after his company cut its travel budget. Instead, he had to settle for a cheaper domestic hotel chain. To his surprise, the discount in room rate didn't lead to a discount in experience. Yes, the expansive breakfast buffet is gone, but Zhang relishes the local dishes served at the domestic chain Atour. Its pillows and comforters are so popular that many guests buy them after checking out. There's no scramble to pack and leave in the morning as checkout can wait until 6 p.m. Zhang is not alone in switching hotels. Chinese banks have scaled back travel perks since last year, barring staff from flying business class and booking pricey hotels, as China's economy slows and companies tighten their purse strings. And while it's making things tough for the top-end international brands, the greater financial prudence has opened up opportunities for smaller local chains that focus on the needs of business travelers. While spending on work-related travel in China slowed in 2024, it still grew to a record $372.5 billion, according to market researcher China Trading Desk. But much of the growth is being captured by hotels offering modest accommodation rather than the luxury end of the spectrum. Mid-range local brands could expand their market share from 45% in 2023 to up to 75% by 2028, the consultancy says. That's giving domestic chains a boost. Atour Lifestyle Holdings Ltd posted record revenue growth of 55.3% to 7.25 billion yuan ($1 billion), thanks in part to sales of its pillows and comforters. Another hotel chain H World Group Ltd saw revenue jump almost 10% year on year. This is in contrast to the major international brands, which are struggling in the Greater China region compared to the rest of the world. InterContinental Hotels Group Plc saw room revenue for business trips in the region decrease 5%, compared with a 2% increase globally. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. says its revenue per room in Asia Pacific was flat, dragged down by China. Marriott International Inc. also saw its Greater China revenue decline, citing weaker domestic demand. 'The primary driver behind this transformation is corporate cost-cutting measures,' said Subramania Bhatt, chief executive officer of China Trading Desk. 'Beyond price, local brands have developed several competitive edges that appeal to business travelers.' While tighter travel budgets are a key reason some are switching hotel brands, it's only part of the story. Local chains unable to match international five-star chains in prestige and glamor are trying to make up in other ways. Yongbin Xu, a director at a private fund management company in Shanghai, used to stay at Marriott or Shangri-La hotels on work trips but has now switched to Intercity, an upper mid-scale brand operated by H World Group. He made the change not because of corporate cutbacks, but because he likes the location and service of Intercity hotels. A room at a Shangri-La or Marriott hotel in Shenzhen costs between 1000 yuan and 1200 yuan per night, while Intercity charges around 700 yuan for a room in the central business district. 'Of course, those hotels sacrifice some services, but for business trips, I don't have time to use the swimming pool or other high-end services,' said Xu. Xu's favorite service at H World: Robots that help ferry food deliveries from the hotel entrance to his room upstairs, whereas international brands ask guests to go all the way down to the entrance to pick them up themselves. Another perk that has won over many local travelers is free laundry, either through self-service washing machines or through a pick-up service. By contrast, it normally costs from 30 to 100 yuan per item for laundry services in the five-star hotels in Beijing and Shanghai. Local chains have also sought to gain an advantage over their larger rivals by the strength of their mobile apps, through which guests can access a broad array of services, such as selecting your own room or requesting more water, without having to speak to reception. While Chinese domestic hotel brands have become more competitive, they also face a number of challenges, including rising operational expenses and cut-throat price competition due to the surge in the supply of rooms in smaller hotels, guesthouses and home-rental apps in the country. By the end of 2024, the number of hotels in China had risen to 348,700, with 17.6 million rooms, both record highs, according to a report by the China Hotel Association. This weighed on the average room rate for both domestic and international brands, which declined between 2% and 7% last year. And prices may face even greater pressure in the coming years as the major chains keep expanding to meet rising demand from Chinese travelers. 'The downward trend in hotel prices and profits will continue this year due to oversupply, increasing the risk of investing in new hotels,' said Zhao Huanyan, a Shanghai-based independent hospitality industry consultant. Despite stronger sales, H World Group saw its profit decline last year due to expenditure on renovation and service upgrades. For Atour, its breakneck expansion appears to have led to a lapse in quality control. The pillow cases at one of its hotels in Hangzhou were found out to be ones meant for a hospital, sparking widespread media and online scrutiny. Atour later explained in a statement that it was a sorting mistake by its laundry supplier and temporarily closed down the location to replace all bed linen. In response to rising local competition, international hotel chains have been expanding their mid-range options in China. Almost 80% of the new hotels IHG has in the pipeline in the Greater China region belong to their more affordable brands, compared with around 20% in their luxury segment. Marriott's chief financial officer Leeny Oberg highlighted in the company's earning call in May the 'terrific interest' in their mid-tier brands. But for Zhang, it's unlikely to be enough to persuade him to switch his allegiance back from China's domestic chains. 'I expect I'll continue to stay at Atour hotels in the future, even for personal trips, as I've come to like them.' More stories like this are available on
South China Morning Post
02-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China's Labour Day travel boom bodes well for spending, but box office fizzles
Inbound travel has emerged as a bright spot in China's Labour Day holiday spending, while domestic tourism is seeing modest growth amid nationwide efforts to boost consumption during a heated trade war with the United States. Advertisement However, in contrast with the rosy travel demand, box office sales were looking to fall short of previous years, initial data showed. On Thursday – the first day of the Labour Day holiday – inbound travel bookings to China jumped 141 per cent, year on year, according to a major online travel platform. Data from marketing and tech firm China Trading Desk showed that 1.2 million to 1.5 million inbound travellers – excluding visitors from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan – were expected to enter mainland China over the five-day holiday, marking a more than 50 per cent increase from last year. Subramania Bhatt, the firm's founder and CEO, attributed the surge to China's relaxed visa-free entries and tax-refund policies, as well as improved travel services and growing exposure on social media that has sparked new interest in China as a destination. Advertisement To attract more inbound tourists, Chinese authorities have rolled out a series of measures – most recently easing tax-refund rules late last month – as part of broader efforts to boost domestic spending amid rising economic pressure from the trade war. The county's domestic tourism also saw modest growth on the first day of the holiday. The number of cross-region trips was expected to rise 8 per cent, year on year, to more than 340 million, Xinhua said in a report on Thursday, citing data from the Ministry of Transport.
NBC News
29-01-2025
- NBC News
Chinese travelers cancel Lunar New Year trips to Thailand over safety concerns
Chinese travelers are canceling plans to visit Thailand during the Lunar New Year holiday, as concerns over the kidnapping of actor Wang Xing continue to reverberate through the country. Net booking volume for trips to Thailand fell 15.6% from Jan. 13 to Jan. 20 from the previous week, after news of the rescue of Wang from a scamming compound along the Thai-Myanmar border this month, according to the marketing agency China Trading Desk. The fallout is also extending to other countries in Southeast Asia, with data from the aviation analytics company VariFlight showing Chinese travelers also canceled holiday trips to Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia — albeit to a lesser degree, according to the company's CEO, Subramania Bhatt. 'The biggest decline is in Thailand. The other Southeast Asian countries are, I would say, collateral damage,' said Bhatt. 'A lot of folks plan to travel around the region as a single trip … so some have cancelled trips that originate from these countries too.' During the same week in January, Chinese travelers booked more Lunar New Year trips to other destinations, including Australia (+4.8%), the United Arab Emirates (+4.7%) and South Korea (+3.9%), data showed. Thailand posted an AI-generated video on the government's Facebook page last Wednesday of its prime minister attempting to reassure Chinese tourists that traveling to Thailand is safe. Days earlier, Chinese officials said they were prepared to work with Southeast Asian nations to crack down on cross-border scamming compounds, according to China's State Council. Chinese travelers' reluctance to visit Southeast Asia may be benefitting other destinations, said Yang Lei, analyst at the Hong Kong-based financial services company China Galaxy International. 'Currently, Chinese people are becoming more cautious to go to Thailand and also some other Southeast countries,' she told CNBC's 'Squawk Box Asia' Monday. 'The hot locations for outbound will continue to be Japan [and] South Korea. And for this Chinese New Year, people are also quite willing to go to Australia, New Zealand and also the United States.' Fears about human trafficking The kidnapping of Wang, who was lured to Bangkok for a job opportunity, reignited fears among Chinese travelers to visit Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia. Thailand officials have been working to regain the trust of mainland visitors since the release of the 2023 Chinese blockbuster film 'No More Bets,' which depicted a Chinese couple lured to Southeast Asia for work, which turns out to be a human trafficking scheme. The movie, while fictional, depicted a situation that the United Nations estimates has ensnared hundreds of thousands of people in real life. Many compounds are in the border areas outside of Thailand — in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar — often in special economic zones where there is 'little to no rule of law,' according to the United Nations. The areas, which have been called lawless playgrounds, are also often rife with drugs, wildlife trafficking and other illegal activities. Outbound travel: increasing but 'uneven' Despite the cancellations, parts of Southeast Asia are expected to attract more Chinese tourists this Lunar New Year than in 2019, according to Bhatt. Flight bookings to Singapore are up 14.2% and to Malaysia 6.2% from 2019 levels, according to China Trading Desk's data. South Korea is also expected to see Chinese tourist arrivals fully rebound during the festive period. However, Japan — a top destination for outbound Chinese travelers this Lunar New Year — isn't expected to see a full recovery of holiday visitors from China, with data showing arrivals will still be down 10% from 2019. Outbound travel from China is 'uneven' right now, said Bhatt, who added that while outbound travel from China is picking up, it's still 'way off' to long-haul destinations like Europe and the United States. In addition to safety, geopolitics and costs are also driving Chinese travel sentiment, he said, which is why 'politically neutral' countries, like Singapore and Malaysia, are seeing travelers return faster than other places. 'Travel to Europe is getting more expensive because of Russian airspace closure, so it's costing [Chinese travelers] much more to fly,' he said. Despite weak consumer confidence in a slowing economy, Chinese people are willing to spend on experiences, especially those involving travel, Yang said. 'For the upcoming Chinese New Year, we expect the inbound and outbound travel will maintain very solid gross momentum,' she said. nine billion trips will be taken during the country's 40-day Lunar New Year travel rush, which began on Jan. 14.
