China is seeing a long-awaited return of foreign tourists, but the spending patterns brought by the influx are not matching the expectations of many tour operators that relied on packaged shopping stops.
European heatwave helped drive travel to China
Data released by travel platform Trip.com in late July show European countries accounted for 30% of major source markets for inbound tourists to China during the summer holiday season. Bookings from Europe rose by a remarkable 275% year on year, while growth from key western European markets — including the UK, France and Germany — approached 150%.
Meanwhile, a platform under Tongcheng Travel, HopeGoo, reported that since July flight bookings from cities such as London and Madrid to China increased by more than 20% month on month. The surge followed a summer in Europe marked by extreme heat: from mid-June to mid-August roughly 80 million Europeans experienced temperatures above 40°C, prompting some travellers to change plans at short notice and consider China as an alternative destination.
What travellers now want
A veteran travel industry professional interviewed for the report said younger visitors from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore who travel to Beijing increasingly arrange their own flights and accommodation, and many ethnic Chinese visitors speak the language. Their priorities have shifted: what appeals most are affordable day tours that cover major cultural attractions such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the National Museum of China.
By contrast, products that centre on traditional shopping stops — long a mainstay of inbound group tours — now attract virtually no interest, the source said, regardless of price.
Spending per visitor lags behind higher visitor numbers
Official customs data from Shanghai Customs point to a disconnect between the higher numbers of departing tourists applying for tax refunds and the value of goods purchased. In the first half of the year Shanghai Customs processed nearly three times as many departure tax refund applications as a year earlier, but the value of tax-refunded goods rose by only 58%. That suggests a large rise in the number of smaller purchases rather than big-ticket shopping trips.
| Measure | Change |
|---|---|
| European bookings (Trip.com) | +275% year on year |
| Key western European markets (UK, France, Germany) | ~+150% |
| Flight bookings from London, Madrid (HopeGoo) | +20% month on month |
| Departure tax refund applications (Shanghai Customs) | ~x3 |
| Value of tax-refunded goods (H1) | +58% |
- Travellers are self-organising: younger inbound tourists increasingly book independently rather than join packaged group tours.
- Experience over shopping: demand is strongest for affordable cultural day tours to major heritage sites.
- More visitors, smaller purchases: tax-refund applications have risen faster than the value of purchases, indicating reduced per-head spend.
The shift has implications for tourism operators and the retail sector in China. Tour businesses that once relied on curated shopping experiences to subsidise lower-cost sightseeing may need to reconfigure itineraries and product offerings to focus on experiences that align with modern traveller preferences, particularly heritage and day-tour formats.
For retailers and luxury brands, the data signal a need to reassess assumptions about the return of outbound shoppers. An increase in visitor numbers does not automatically translate to proportionate growth in high-value purchases.
For South African travellers considering China as an alternative this coming season, the evolving landscape suggests more independent options and accessible cultural tours, but not necessarily the same shopping-oriented packages typical of the pre-pandemic years.
As inbound tourism continues to recover, further data on visitor spending and itinerary composition will be needed to understand whether the current pattern — more visitors but smaller per capita purchases — represents a temporary post-pandemic adjustment or a longer-term structural change in how foreign tourists experience China.
