BANGKOK: Thailand has for years been the top travel destination for Chinese tourists during the Chinese New Year holidays. However, the tables appear to have turned this year, with Japan overtaking Thailand as the most preferred destination.

According to a report on Nikkei Asia, Japan was the top cross-border destination for Chinese tourists during the eight-day Lunar New Year holiday through February 4, with reservations doubling from the previous year.

This shift aligns with the pattern observed in 2024 when Japan also surpassed Thailand in terms of total international arrivals. According to data from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, Japan recorded 36.87 million international arrivals, compared to 35.55 million in Thailand. The increase in Chinese visitors to Japan has been a key driver of Japan’s tourism growth.

Data from the online travel agency Trip.com Group indicates that international travel from China rose by 30 per cent year-on-year during the arrival of the Year of the Snake. Japan emerged as the top destination for Chinese tourists, consistent with findings from Dongcheng Travel, which ranked Japan ahead of Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand as the most popular destination for Chinese travellers.

Lower airfares have also contributed to a surge in outbound travel among Chinese tourists. According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, an average of 1,888 international passenger flights flew out of the mainland during the Chinese New Year holidays, marking a 24.6 per cent surge compared to the previous year.

China Eastern Airlines increased flights to Japan by 54 per cent, with passenger volume rising 71.2 per cent year-on-year, while Spring Airlines expanded its international routes by 76 per cent.

Hotel bookings overseas, including in Japan, also saw a significant rise, surging over 300 per cent on New Year’s Eve compared to the previous year. Dongcheng Travel reported that flight bookings to emerging destinations such as Japan’s Sapporo and Chiba, Johor in Malaysia, Da Nang in Vietnam, and Cebu in the Philippines had risen by more than fivefold. Additionally, hotel bookings in these destinations more than doubled during the first four days of the Chinese New Year holiday.

Eased visa restrictions have led tourism research and consulting firm JTB to predict that the number of Chinese tourists travelling to Japan in 2025 will rise by 33 per cent to approximately 9.3 million. Plus, Japan’s proximity to China and the weaker yen are making travel more attractive.

“While China’s outbound tourism is struggling to return to 2019 levels, the share of Chinese travellers heading to Japan has already exceeded pre-pandemic levels and is expected to grow further in 2025, thanks to visa relaxations,” JTB stated.

Japan has set a target of attracting 60 million tourists by 2030, up from 36.8 million in 2024. However, securing spending from Chinese travellers remains a challenge.

China’s outbound tourism recovery has been slow, especially since early 2024, due to its sluggish economy, GDP growth below five per cent, and weakened business sentiment. In response, Japan’s tourism industry is working hard to attract Chinese visitors despite these economic headwinds.

However, tourism trends are not always predictable, as social media events can influence travel decisions. This was evident in Thailand’s case, following reports that Chinese actor Wang Xing was lured to Thailand for a filming job but later disappeared in Shwe Kokko, Myanmar – a location notorious for casinos, online scams, and human trafficking. The incident sparked a massive reaction on Chinese social media, leading to concerns about travel safety in Thailand.

Similarly, news of Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu’s death while travelling in Japan during Chinese New Year triggered widespread speculation on Chinese social media. The term “Japanese flu” trended on the Chinese social media platform, Weibo, though the impact on travel plans is expected to be minimal.

According to Simo Xu, an analyst at Dongcheng Research Institute, the flu occurs periodically and is not contagious, meaning it has not deterred Chinese tourists from visiting Japan. So far, no significant drop in flight bookings to Japan has been observed since February.

“Japan has always been a top destination for Chinese tourists,” Xu added. “We believe occasional incidents will not affect Japan’s popularity as a travel destination.” – The Nation/ANN