China's outbound tourism has grown rapidly in recent years, with over 70 million border crossings in 2011 alone. Chinese tourists now spend tens of billions of dollars abroad each year on travel and shopping. The China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI) is a leading independent research organization that studies and provides information on China's booming outbound tourism market.

1. CHINA OUTBOUND TOURISM RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Current Situation of China’s
Outbound Tourism
Last Updated July 2012
An information offered by
COTRI
China Outbound Tourism Research Institute
desk1@china-outbound.com
www.china-outbound.com

2. Growth of China’s Outbound Tourism
In 2011, 70.3 million border-crossings from Mainland China have been recorded,
an increase of more than 20% compared to 2010.
In the first half of 2012 the figure continued to rise by almost 20% compared to
the same period last year, reaching 38.6 million border-crossings.
China Outbound Tourism Chinese million border-crossingsTravellers
For
1995-2012 in International
Source: COTRI, CNTA, CTA 70,3
80,0
57,4
41,0 45,8 47,5 38,6
28,9 31,0 34,5 32,0
16,6 20,2
7,1 7,6 8,2 8,4 9,2 10,5 12,1
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 1st 2011 1st 2012
Half Half COTRI
2011 2012 Est.
www.china-outbound.com

3. In 2011 China ranked in third place as a global outbound tourism source
market and will very likely overtake Germany and the USA in 2012 or 2013. Ranking
as the seventh-biggest source market in 2005, China has since left
behind, respectively, Italy, Japan, France and the United Kingdom.
The international tourism spending of Chinese consumers for 2011 reached 69 billion
USD, a massive increase on the 55 billion USD spent by Chinese tourists in 2010.
Furthermore, in 2011 there was an 91% increase of the amount Chinese travellers
spent on shopping. Moreover an average of € 813 (US$ 1,011) is spent on tax-free
goods on each trip.
From: UNWTO Tourism Highlights, 2012 Edition
www.china-outbound.com

4. The behavior and tendency among wealthy Chinese outbound tourists, shows that
the typical wealthy Chinese outbound traveler goes on holiday 2-3 times a year, for an
average of 5-8 days and traveling in a group of 3-10 persons.
While shopping is still one of the main motivation for taking the overseas travel,
more experience-demanding activities and exotic destinations are gaining
popularity among more and more well-travelled tourists.
www.china-outbound.com

5. The amount of over 70 million trips made by Chinese Mainland tourists to foreign
countries and regions represent 1.2 times the number of US citizens going to foreign
countries in 2011 and 3.5 times the number of Japanese citizens going abroad.
From: chinadaily.com.cn
www.china-outbound.com

6. Highlights from COT in the first half of 2012
• The US has shortened the visa application process since February, increasing the
number of Chinese tourists to the US by 30 percent year-on-year in the first
quarter of 2012. Japan and South Korea have also offered more favorable visa
policies for Chinese travelers since last year.
• Seville and the Chinese Embassy in Spain signed a cooperation agreement which
proclaimed Seville as the first “Chinese Friendly City” in Europe. Seville wants
to “increase the number of Chinese tourists visiting the city by making them feel as
if they were at home, turning the city into a priority destination for them”.
The agreement was fostered by Chinese Friendly International (CFI), a recently
created company which aims to prepare destinations and professionals worldwide
for the arrival of Chinese Tourists. CFI works in partnership with COTRI .
www.china-outbound.com

7. CHINA OUTBOUND TOURISM RESEARCH INSTITUTE
COTRI China Outbound Tourism Research Institute
is the world's leading independent research institute for information,
training, quality assessment, research, and consulting relating to the
Chinese outbound tourism market.
Established: 2004
Director: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt
Headquarter: Heide/Germany
China office: Beijing
COTRI Headquarter Germany COTRI China Office
Fritz-Thiedemann Ring 20 101/2B Gui Gu Liang Cheng
25746 Heide, Germany 1 Nong Da Nan Rd
Fax +49 481 8555 121 Beijing 100084, P.R. of China
Phone +49 481 8555 523 Phone +86 13 4260 3672
info@china-outbound.com china@china-outbound.com
www.china-outbound.com