Among the many intractable challenges DMO marketers face, deciding which traveler types to go after is always top-of-mind. One thing is clear though: our industry’s keen interest in the relatively nascent Chinese travel market is well-founded. Not only is the volume of potential visitors from China staggering, Chinese visitors intend to do the one thing that is most desired by destinations–spend a lot of money in market. Our 2018 The State of the International Traveler survey asked likely international travelers to report what they would expect to spend on a two-week vacation in the U.S. The chart at the bottom of this post shows the average amount that travelers from each country say they would expect to spend overall, for shopping and for hotels. Three fun facts about Chinese travelers jump out at us.
Spending Expectations Tell the Story
Bratton noted that “the real key to understanding current traveler confidence may be seen in looking at their spending expectations.” Nowhere is the picture clearer than when we compare the proportion of travelers who expect to increase their travel budget in the next year. The chart below shows that in the two years prior to the recessionary crash, 42.4 percent of traveler said they expected to increase their leisure travel spending in the upcoming year. In the most recent two years, this average stands at only 32.1 percent, nearly a 25 percent decrease.
Source: The State of the International Traveler, 2018, Destination Analysts, Inc. A survey of over 800 likely international leisure travelers in each of 14 of America’s biggest feeder markets.