Report: Young people main force in outbound travel

Young people account for more than 50 percent of the nearly 100 million users of Qyer.com and have gradually become the main force of outbound travel, according to a report from the Chinese travel information website.

The report analyzed the outbound travel preferences of Chinese in 2018, along with new travel trends of post-1990s and post-2000s tourists.

TV series, variety shows and international competitions are inspirations for those young travelers. Data shows 35.71 percent of the post-2000 generation and 21.26 percent of the post-1990 generation choose their destinations based on variety shows. About 75 percent of post-2000s and 50.28 percent of post-1990s will start a trip because of a TV series or movie. 21.43 percent of post-2000s will embark on a journey because of their idols.

According to the report, the number of outbound tourists has increased steadily over the past decade. From 2010 to 2017, the compound annual growth rate of outbound tourists reached 12.27 percent.

As of 2018, the number of valid passports for private use has reached 130 million. In other words, 90 percent of Chinese have not entered the outbound tourism market, which means the overall penetration rate of outbound tourism still has huge growth potential.

Niche destinations, once thought to be fashionable among only a select group of people, have reversed course in 2018. Croatia, Mexico and Portugal ranked among the top 30 "budget destinations" for the first time.

The rise of niche destinations is influenced by visa policies. In 2018, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus and other newly added visa-free destinations saw their popularity rise immediately after the announcement of visa-free policies.

Chinese outbound tourism is more diversified in terms of activities and plans. For instance, skydiving, paragliding and diving are growing by 30 percent at Qyer.com. Skiing, music festivals, hiking, RV travel, surfing, self-driving and other ways of exploring are becoming popular among travelers.

In addition, the report also interprets travel behavior of people from four regions: Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai, the Pearl River Delta and southwestern China.

Travelers from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebe region prefer self-driven, long-term journeys and are the biggest spenders.

Affected by geographical location, different regions have diverse choices in destinations. Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo are favored by tourists from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, since they are relatively close to each other. Travelers from the Pearl River Delta like destinations in Southeast Asia, while those from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and southwest regions prefer European countries.