iSuite Insights Spotlight - Issue #9 Understanding The Latest Online Behaviour Of Chinese Travelers

Double 11 is one of the most significant and iconic online shopping events in China, characterized by substantial discount offers and massive consumer spending. The best price guarantee is one of the notable trends of this year’s Double 11, which aims to offer lower prices and faster delivery to boost sales among sophisticated Chinese consumers.

Xiaohongshu (XHS), China's leading social commerce platform dedicated to enriching lives, has transformed into a vibrant #community where users enthusiastically share insights about fashion, beauty, food, travel, and more. Seamlessly integrating content, community, and ecommerce, XHS stands as the ultimate destination for Chinese consumers.

The 618 Shopping Festival, originating from the Chinese e-commerce giant Taobao, has evolved into a massive shopping extravaganza in the Chinese e-commerce market. Today, it includes many other prominent platforms like Alibaba's Tmall, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu, magnifying its reach and impact.

China is one of the largest travel and tourism markets in the world. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the outlook for Chinese outbound tourism remains optimistic, with a strong rebound expected in the coming years. According to the forecast of China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, the number of outbound trips is expected to reach 115 million by the end of 2023, showing a strong desire for overseas travel.

China has eased its zero-COVID policy and reopened its borders to tourists after three years of COVID-19 closure. The border reopening is a significant step towards economic recovery and the resumption of cross-border activities. According to travel platform Trip.com, outbound travel orders surged 640 percent YoY over the Chinese New Year holiday, while Chinese mainland tourists' bookings for overseas hotels and international flight tickets both soared more than four times over the same period of last year.

China, the world's largest market for outbound travel pre-COVID, reopened its border to international travelers on Jan 8 2023, lighting up prospects for global economic recovery. According to Trip.com Group data, overseas travel orders for the seven days during Spring Festival had surged by 540% YoY. It is expected that overseas tourist destinations will welcome an influx of Chinese tourists during the holiday.

After 14 years of development, China’s Double 11 Shopping Festival has matured. This year, instead of announcing sales results, E-commerce platforms are focusing more on achievements in areas such as helping farmers, going green and environmental protection, as well as long-term retention and conversion of core customers.

Hainan’s duty free retailers have fully resumed business since September after a COVID-enforced 47-day closure just in time to welcome visitors for Golden Week celebrations and the grand opening of China Duty Free Group’s Haikou International Duty Free Shopping Complex and its 280,000 sqm duty free zone i.e. CDF Haikou International Duty Free City, which is dubbed as the world’s largest single duty free store.