More Chinese tourists expected to travel Turkey in 2018

The number of Chinese tourists traveling internationally has reached 130 million in 2017, up 7% from 122 million in 2016. An estimated 115.29 billion USD was spent during 2017, a year-on-year increase of 5%.

According to Ctrip’s "2017 China Outbound Tourism Travel Report", many emerging destinations such as Morocco, Turkey and Tunisia are seeing huge growth in visitor numbers. Chinese travelers are becoming increasingly focused on their well-being and the purpose for making outbound trips has changed from sightseeing and shopping to enjoying high-quality services. According to Ctrip statistics, Ctrip's tailor-made travel and local guide platform has served millions of tourists in 2017. Such personalized trips designed by Ctrip travel planners are becoming a popular option for Chinese travelers.

With more flight connections, better exchange rate and fewer visa restrictions, many emerging destinations such as Morocco, Turkey and Tunisia are seeing huge growth in visitor numbers.

According to the latest figures from ForwardKeys, Europe will benefit from new routes between China and Europe. A total of nine new routes and one resumed route will start during the first half of 2018, and a further three are in the pipeline. At least four China-Europe routes are already planned for the second half of this year.

Europe, with a 10 per cent market share of the outbound Chinese market, saw a 7.4% increase in Chinese travellers during the recent New Year holiday period in January and February this year, according to ForwardKeys’ findings. Turkey increased by 108.2%, and Greece by 55.7%, compared to the same period last year.