Trip.com reports rise in searches for travel to China in Q3

Global search results for China inbound travel were up by nearly 40 per cent.

China.- The online travel agency Trip.com has reported a growth of nearly 40 per cent in global search results for travel to China in the third quarter of 2023. It says flight bookings rose by 98 per cent in October, but that is not surprising considering that China’s borders remained closed last year. The data excludes Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Trip.com attributes the growth to China opening its borders, simplifying the visa application process, and eliminating the Entry Health Declaration Card requirement for inbound arrivals. The most popular cities for inbound travellers were Shenzhen and Shanghai, followed by Guangzhou, Beijing, Zhuhai, Hangzhou, Foshan, Xiamen, Zhongshan, and Chengdu.

As for the sources of inbound travellers, Trip.com identified South Korea, the United States of America, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Canada, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and Germany as the top contributors. The data also reflects a four-digit growth in visitor numbers for the first ten months of 2023, reaching over 60 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

See also: Macau was China’s favourite outbound destination for H1