Travel bookings to South-east Asia from mainland China surge over 10 times post-reopening

SOUTH-EAST Asia is apparently among the top of the travel list for mainland Chinese tourists, who have recently been granted the freedom to travel again after years of border closure due to Covid-19.

Data from Trip.com on Friday (Jan 13) showed that overall travel bookings from mainland Chinese tourists to South-east Asian countries grew by more than 10 times – or 1026 per cent – as at Jan 12, compared with the same period last year. 

The number of air ticket bookings from mainland China to South-east Asia also recorded a more than eight times growth year on year. The top five South-east Asia destinations that these tourists were most interested in visiting over the Chinese New Year were: Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Indonesia.

As at Jan 12, the number of mainland tourists visiting Singapore over the Chinese New Year holiday grew by almost five times year on year, while the number of Chinese visitors travelling to Cambodia and Indonesia swelled more than 10 times each.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia also saw a 5.8 times growth, compared with a year ago. This came amid an exponential boom in search interest for outbound flights from mainland China, which grew 83 per cent in two weeks since talks of China’s borders reopening surfaced.

Outbound flight bookings from the country also more than doubled between Dec 26 and Jan 5, ahead of the seven-day Chinese New Year holiday.