COTTM 2015 - China Outbound Travel & Tourism Market 2015

China Outbound Travel & Tourism Market 2015

COTTM 2015

Statistics provided by the China Tourism Academy indicate that the momentous Chinese Outbound Market accounts for over 98 million outbound trips a year, which puts travel expenditure in excess of $128 billion. Based on this background, Tarsus Group Plc will hold China Outbound Travel & Tourism Market 2015 (COTTM 2015) at China (Beijing) National Agriculture Exhibition Center (CNAEC) from April 14 to April 16, 2015.

A combination of China’s fast-emerging middle class, improved transport links and more favourable policies are all contributing to the boom of outbound tourism. COTTM is conveniently located in Beijing, the hub of this booming market and home to some of China’s largest outbound tour operators:

1) Chinese outbound travel will increase by 15% to over 114 million outbound trips this year, amounting to a total of $140 billion dollars in travel expenditure (CTA, 2014)
2) The Chinese share of global outbound expenditure is set to rise from 1% in 2005 to 20% in 2023 (Oxford Economics)
3) The continued trend of growth in this industry is further supported by the fact that 54% of Chinese tourists are young, having been born after 1980 (CTA, 2014)
4) Whilst the majority of trips made by Chinese tourists currently consist of short-haul trips, demand for long-haul trips is increasing (CTA, 2014)
5) New government strategy (The Outline for National Tourism and Leisure 2013-2020) announced support to tourism development, driving outbound travel and tourism amongst Chinese nationals by encouraging workers to take paid annual leave days
6) Although the Chinese market is already substantial, entire regions including the middle and western regions still show significant potential (CTA, 2014)
7) With a record number of Chinese tourists packing their bags and fuelling a transformation of the global outbound travel and tourism industry, China is set to overtake the US as the largest source of outbound travel spend in the world this year
8) Travelling is very much a lifestyle choice for Chinese tourists, as Chinese tourists travel for the experience of travelling but also for the goods available to purchase at the destination (CTA, 2014)