|
16 Jan 2009
Shanghai
Mainland Chinese Netizens More Motivated to Travel This CNY Than Consumers From Hong Kong and Taiwan
More Than Half of Mainland Netizens Plan to Travel This CNY, Up 10 percent from last year
The global economic crisis is slowing down a lot of things, but it doesn't look like it will stop Mainland Chinese netizens from holidaying this coming Chinese New Year.
Economic downturn doesn’t stop Chinese netizens from traveling
According to the Nielsen survey, conducted online in Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, more than half of Mainland Chinese netizens (53%) said they planned to take either domestic (42%) or outbound travel (11%) during the CNY period: that’s 10 percent more netizens than this time last year (43%). Taiwanese netizens are also motivated to get moving these holidays, with 46 percent planning to travel this CNY. The majority of respondents in Hong Kong, however, are choosing to holiday at home - only 35 percent of Hong Kong respondents said they will travel this CNY.
“Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for Chinese families,therefore, economic downturn doesn’t stop Chinese netizens from traveling. In fact it seems that it will be greater than last year when travel was affected due to unprecedented snow storms. According to the Nielsen survey most people choose going on holiday with their family and friends and feel the time and money they spend is priceless compared with spending quality time with the people they love.” Said Dr. Grace Pan, head of travel and leisure research at The Nielsen Company in China.
However the economic slowdown has started to impact holiday spending. According to the Nielsen survey, 46 percent of mainland respondents and 50 percent of Hong Kong respondents feel the pinch and are planning to cut down on spending while on holiday.
Short-haul travel more popular in tough times
“In these challenging economic times, Chinese travelers are looking for ways to save, including organizing trips themselves and planning short to medium haul trips.” Said Dr. Pan.
In mainland China, almost half of netizens (49%) claimed that the economic downturn will not impact their travel plans, while 36 percent would choose destinations nearby instead. 52 percent of Hong Kong netizens think that the economic downturn would not impact their choice of destination and 45 percent claim they would choose a nearby destination if times got tough.
Among those mainland Chinese netizens who planned to travel domestically, Sanya is the top destination with 21 percent of them planning to have a warm Chinese New Year on beautiful beaches, followed closely by Lijiang (17%). On the other hand, the cold weather doesn’t stop Chinese consumers’ passion for Beijing (16%) - the Olympic City is the third top destination in China.
For outbound travel destinations, Hong Kong is the most popular destination with 6 in ten outbound travel consumers planning a visit. Taiwan’s popularity as a CNY destination increased significantly to 29% becoming the 2nd most popular outbound travel destination. This is good news for the Taiwanese travel industry: 95 percent of consumers surveyed said that they are aware of the China – Taiwan direct flight and only 21 percent of respondents would not consider visiting Taiwan within the next two years. The Top 5 most popular outbound travel destinations for mainland Chinese netizens also include Macau (23%), Japan (15%) and Korea (13%).
In contrast, long-haul destinations like France, UK and other European countries have dwindled significantly in popularity among mainland Chinese netizens for this coming CNY, with only 3 percent of consumers planning to visit France compared with 12 percent last year.
“Even though there are many apparent reasons to stay home this year, the Chinese netizens really value Chinese New Year travel and will stick to it as much as they can. In order for the travel industry to weather the current financial climate, it’s vital to monitor the changing trends in travelers’ behavior closely.” said Dr. Pan.
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a leading global information and media company providing essential integrated marketing and media measurement information and analytics and industry expertise to clients across the world. Nielsen maintains leading market positions in marketing and consumer information; television, online, mobile and other media intelligence; and trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). Nielsen is a privately held company and is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.
CHART 1:
CHART 2:
CHART 3
CHART 4
CHART 5
Back to Top
|
