Golden Week?s bookings increase reconfirms Chinese interest in European travel
Image courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue
Despite concerns of terrorist attacks, Chinese travelers are booking European trips to celebrate the Year of the Rooster, according to a report by ForwardKeys.
Tourism to Europe declined significantly in 2016 due to continued security anxieties, but the dates surrounding Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan. 28 this year, hint that interest in European destinations is on the mend. ForwardKeys? ?Chinese New Year International Travel Outlook 2017? report found that bookings to Europe are ahead 68.5 percent compared to a 7.4 percent decline in visitors a year ago.
“Europe has an enormous amount of culture and it is all close at hand,” said David Tarsh, spokesperson for ForwardKeys. “But, what we are seeing is that the there seems to be a trend of Chinese being more adventurous in terms of the parts of Europe they are willing to travel to. “More simply, there?s more to Europe than Paris,” he said. “We had dreadful events that impacted France, Belgium and the surrounding areas that have subdued the Chinese market. Now, we?re seeing good growth in other parts of Europe such as Spain, which is seeing very healthy growth due to its being perceived as safer.”
ForwardKeys is a travel intelligence company that monitors future travel patterns. Each day, ForwardKeys analyses 16 million flight reservation transactions.
Bookings for the new year
Although bookings have increased 68.5 percent, ForwardKeys ca...
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