What to Expect After Coronavirus

Chinese group travel may have been a dominant element of Europe’s travel market over the past 20 years, but the Free Independent Traveler (FIT) segment will recover faster. Going forward, it promises to become the guiding force as China’s traveler becomes younger, digitally-reliant, and more internationally minded.

Group tourism was driven by the explosive growth of China’s economy which created a generation of newly wealthy citizens who were eager to travel internationally yet lacked linguistic or cultural confidence. Following two decades of enormous growth, this segment has begun slowing in recent years as its core demographic ages and adopts new habits.

F.I.T travel is being driven by those born after 1978/ 79, i.e. following the opening up of China’s economy. This group boasts significant disposable income and is seeking out independent travel experiences aided by their language skills and the connectivity of smartphones.

Chinese government placed a ban on outbound group travel. Such as closing borders and banning flights. However, the fact it hasn’t been formally stopped means it won’t need to wait for official approval and will likely start to recover organically as the situation improves.

Even once the travel ban is lifted by contrast, for individuals, the next international vacation is just a matter of taps on a smartphone away. 43 percent of Chinese F.I.Ts book trips with two weeks of planning. Furthermore older generations, who make up the majority of the group travel segment, may be more cautious about traveling internationally post-coronavirus.

As the vast majority of Chinese people do not have social media accounts on Instagram or Facebook, use Google to search, or WhatsApp to chat, it’s imperative to have a presence on WeChat.

Reference: https://jingtravel.com/the-nea...