The top leisure activities of Chinese visitors were shopping (85 percent), sightseeing (78 percent), experiencing fine dining (48 percent), visiting national parks and monuments (37 percent), visiting art galleries/museums (36 percent), traveling to small towns/countryside (34 percent), visiting amusement/theme parks (34 percent), traveling to historical locations (26 percent), taking in cultural/ethnic-heritage sights (22 percent), and taking guided tours (22 percent). Note: the number does vary by countries. For latest updates, please visit Research Reports for latest market sentiments and trends.

Updated in January 2024, Statistics show for the year of 2023, international schedule flights from China to overseas has resumed to over 60% according to Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).  Updated May 2026, China Outbound travel market is projected to overtake 2019 peak level this year. 

Statistics

FIT vs Group

It is estimated that Chinese travel agencies organized more than 50 million tourists to travel overseas, most of whom are follow the group in 2016. Among 122 million outbound tourists, group travelers account for 40%, and individuals are over 70 million accounting for 60%. In 2019, 169 million Chinese travel overseas. 

China Outbound Travel Demographic

Compared with men, female travelers are more likely to choose overseas destinations, with the latter making up 56% of China's outbound tourists. People born during the 1970s and 1980s made up nearly half of outbound tourists, but data shows that more and more younger people as well as the elderly have expressed the interests in overseas travel.