Report finds outbound travelers willing to spend more

BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- China's outbound travel market will maintain strong growth this year as pent-up demand sparks a tourism boom and more big-spending travelers head overseas this summer, China Daily reported Thursday.

Citing a report by the payment company Mastercard, tourists traveling abroad are willing to spend more money and stay longer, highlighting a surge in willingness to travel overseas after China optimized its epidemic response late last year.

Compared with the period between January 2019 and March 2020, the average travel duration has increased from nine to 11 days, and the overall per capita budget for outbound tourists has risen from 34,300 yuan (about 4,964 U.S. dollars) to 39,800 yuan, up 16 percent, the report found.

The report also found that travelers with higher incomes who made frequent trips abroad before the COVID-19 outbreak had a stronger willingness to travel overseas again. Those aged between 21 and 45 had the strongest desire to travel abroad.

"Chinese tourists who have not been traveling abroad for three years can't wait to venture out again. When they travel overseas again, their consumption behavior has changed significantly from the past, and they are eyeing new ways and trends of traveling globally," said Dennis Chang, China division president of Mastercard.