BERLIN (Reuters) - Demand for foreign travel in China has reached its highest level in two years, the organisers of the ITB travel conference said on Tuesday citing a survey in which some 80% of respondents said they planned to travel abroad in the next 12 months.
A survey for the IPK travel consultancy, a partner of the conference, found that around half of those canvassed said they not only intended to travel abroad in the next 12 months but to do so more frequently than in the past, if possible.
"The rising willingness of the Chinese to travel abroad more in the coming 12 months lays a solid foundation for a significant recovery in 2024," the ITB organisers said in a statement.
Interest in travel to Europe was higher than seen in previous studies, when Chinese travellers favoured neighbouring countries, said the organisers of the ITB, one of the world's leading tourism fairs, which takes place annually in Berlin.
They attributed this to a catch-up effect after travel restrictions made Europe virtually inaccessible to Chinese tourists during the pandemic.
However, Chinese visitors are likely to come back thriftier than before, according to the survey, in which respondents expressed an interest in saving on travel costs by travelling off-season, shortening their stay or looking for cheaper accommodation.
In general, Chinese travel spending is still well above the global average.