Through March 2024, consumer spending on travel remains strong, and passenger traffic has soared. New patterns and trends have emerged in travel related areas such as supply-demand and consumer habits. To further strengthen the growth of the tourism market, and achieve high-quality and sustainable development, the World Tourism Alliance, Mastercard, Trip.com Group and Ant Group have conducted research on cross-border tourism spending trends. Based on data sources including Mastercard's consumer insights, Trip.com Group's inbound and outbound products booking data, Mastercard Tourism Innovation Hub case studies, Alipay analysis insights and surveys of travel agencies and tourists, this report provides observations and analysis of outbound tourism destinations, inbound tourism source markets and consumption trends in cross-border tourism industry, to support sustainable and resilient development of the global tourism industry.
Through data analysis, we have identified four major consumption trends in the recovery and development of the global tourism industry:
Tourism consumption patterns are evolving, with a shift from traditional spending on accommodation and shopping towards more experiential expenditures on food and entertainment. On one hand, personalised travel options such as non-group travel and high-end customised tours are preferred by more and more travellers, while themed and scenario-based travel is becoming increasingly prevalent. On the other hand, travellers are demonstrating a greater focus on value-for money, tending to select destinations that are closer and at lower prices, and prefer to choose public transportation which is cheaper and eco friendly.
Focusing on Chinese Mainland market, both inbound and outbound tourism are demonstrating accelerated recovery patterns. In the first quarter of 2024, the volume of cross border travellers reached 83% of the same period in 2019. On one hand, China‘s expansion of unilateral visa-free arrangements, coupled with continuous enhancements to visa and payment facilitation measures, have led to a robust rebound in the willingness of overseas tourists to visit China, substantially boosted market confidence and fuelled the development of Chinese inbound tourism market. On the other hand, as international flights increase and cover more cities, more Chinese tourists travel overseas, and their total spending saw strong recovery, with unexpected high average spendings. Cross-border travel volume and consumption may see a potential increase this summer. As the largest source market of outbound tourism and a major destination, China's continuous release of market potential will add confidence and momentum to the recovery and development of the global tourism industry.
Furthermore, the sustainable development of tourism has emerged as a critical issue of global importance. This report analyses several successful cases on environmental, community and economic sustainability, with the objective of providing references for tourism destinations to fully integrate sustainable elements into their growth strategies. The aim is to facilitate win win outcomes between the tourism industry, the ecological environment, local communities and the overall economy, and to achieve long-term prosperity of the global tourism sector.
Through March 2024, consumer spending on travel remains strong, and passenger traffic has soared. New patterns and trends have emerged in travel related areas such as supply-demand and consumer habits. To further strengthen the growth of the tourism market, and achieve high-quality and sustainable development, the World Tourism Alliance, Mastercard, Trip.com Group and Ant Group have conducted research on cross-border tourism spending trends. Based on data sources including Mastercard's consumer insights, Trip.com Group's inbound and outbound products booking data, Mastercard Tourism Innovation Hub case studies, Alipay analysis insights and surveys of travel agencies and tourists, this report provides observations and analysis of outbound tourism destinations, inbound tourism source markets and consumption trends in cross-border tourism industry, to support sustainable and resilient development of the global tourism industry.
Through data analysis, we have identified four major consumption trends in the recovery and development of the global tourism industry:
Tourism consumption patterns are evolving, with a shift from traditional spending on accommodation and shopping towards more experiential expenditures on food and entertainment. On one hand, personalised travel options such as non-group travel and high-end customised tours are preferred by more and more travellers, while themed and scenario-based travel is becoming increasingly prevalent. On the other hand, travellers are demonstrating a greater focus on value-for money, tending to select destinations that are closer and at lower prices, and prefer to choose public transportation which is cheaper and eco friendly.
Focusing on Chinese Mainland market, both inbound and outbound tourism are demonstrating accelerated recovery patterns. In the first quarter of 2024, the volume of cross border travellers reached 83% of the same period in 2019. On one hand, China‘s expansion of unilateral visa-free arrangements, coupled with continuous enhancements to visa and payment facilitation measures, have led to a robust rebound in the willingness of overseas tourists to visit China, substantially boosted market confidence and fuelled the development of Chinese inbound tourism market. On the other hand, as international flights increase and cover more cities, more Chinese tourists travel overseas, and their total spending saw strong recovery, with unexpected high average spendings. Cross-border travel volume and consumption may see a potential increase this summer. As the largest source market of outbound tourism and a major destination, China's continuous release of market potential will add confidence and momentum to the recovery and development of the global tourism industry.
Furthermore, the sustainable development of tourism has emerged as a critical issue of global importance. This report analyses several successful cases on environmental, community and economic sustainability, with the objective of providing references for tourism destinations to fully integrate sustainable elements into their growth strategies. The aim is to facilitate win win outcomes between the tourism industry, the ecological environment, local communities and the overall economy, and to achieve long-term prosperity of the global tourism sector.
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