The trend of going abroad to escape Tet in China

Being bored with celebrating Tet at home and having surplus income are the reasons why many Chinese people choose to travel abroad during the Lunar New Year.

This year, instead of returning to Shanghai to celebrate the Lunar New Year, Shi Ying and her family decided to go to Japan for sightseeing and shopping. She flew in on January 27 and spent 7 days exploring Kyoto and Tokyo.

“My parents are both very keen to travel during the Lunar New Year,” she told Bloomberg. “Hopefully I can keep my expenses within 80,000 yuan ($11,700).”

Shi, 30, currently works for a non-governmental organization in Beijing. During the recent Lunar New Year holidays, she and her family have chosen to travel to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the United States.

Chinese tourists take a photo with a fellow Chinese police officer in Italy. Photo: AP.

Experience differently

The trend of Chinese people traveling abroad is partly a result of China's economy growing continuously at a rate of at least 6.7% since 1990, thereby giving people more "food and savings".

However, what is important to people like Shi is that this trip helps her escape the crowded trains and buses as well as the boredom of Tet holidays back home.

"Traveling abroad during Tet is just as expensive as many domestic destinations. My parents don't want a boring holiday when all three of us are just staying at home in Shanghai," she shared.

According to Catherine Lim, an analyst at Bloomberg in Singapore, the wave of overseas tourism is also created by the Chinese government's long-term policy of limiting births. Young Chinese, who are increasingly economically well-off than previous generations, want to explore the world.

“With families getting smaller, there’s not much to do during Tet,” said Ms Lim. “Young people would rather spend their money on experiencing new destinations than buying expensive Hermes bags.”

Instead of returning to her hometown in northeastern China, Xi Chunhui will travel to Macau, Singapore and Hong Kong with friends for 11 days.

"Tet in my hometown is the same every year," said Xi, a 27-year-old online newspaper editor. "I don't think my not going home will make people sad."

Airline rakes in money

This year’s Lunar New Year, which runs from January 27 to February 2, will see the largest “human migration” in history in China. More than 414 million Chinese are expected to travel by train or plane, equivalent to the entire population of the European Union (EU).

Against this backdrop, the wave of going abroad to celebrate the Chinese New Year is becoming increasingly popular. International flights during the holiday are expected to reach a record 6 million passengers, with top destinations being Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian countries.

Crowded scenes are often seen at airports, train stations... in China during Tet. Photo: Getty.

“The Lunar New Year is a peak period for Chinese airlines,” Steve Saxon, a partner at consulting firm McKinsey in Shanghai, told Bloomberg. “For many people, it’s the one time of year when they can travel for extended periods of time.”

The Civil Aviation Administration of China estimates that 58.3 million people will travel by air, up 10 percent from a year earlier. Chinese airlines earn about 20 percent of their annual revenue during the holiday, Saxon said.

China Southern Airlines, Asia’s largest airline, added 3,600 flights during the Lunar New Year holiday, expanding its services to Australia and New Zealand. Xiamen Airlines, a subsidiary of China Southern Airlines, also added 100 flights to popular tourist destinations such as Bali and the Maldives.

“Not only us, but all airlines in China are putting all their resources into travel during the Lunar New Year,” said Hu Nan, international business director of Xiamen Airlines.

Meanwhile, according to online travel site Ctrip.com, Chinese people will travel to 174 destinations outside the mainland over nine days during the Lunar New Year holiday. “Every airline will make a fortune during this holiday,” said Will Horton, an analyst at CAPA Centre for Aviation in Hong Kong.

Go to Japan to buy toothpaste

According to the World Tourism Organization, China is now the country with the most citizens traveling abroad in the world, with 128 million people spending a total of $292 billion in 2015.

Demand for travel during Tet is so high that cheap tickets are no longer available 50 days before departure. The expensive tickets during this time help airlines make up for the low season.

Chinese tourists in the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Bloomberg.

On the other end of the spectrum, destinations like Japan, Australia, and even Israel are implementing flexible, long-term visa policies to attract tourists from China. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) even issues visas on arrival to visitors from China.

According to the Japan National Tourism Agency, in 2016, Chinese visitors to Japan increased by 28%, reaching 6.4 million people, the largest number of foreign visitors to the land of the rising sun.

According to another statistic, Chinese tourists spent a total of 12.8 billion USD on shopping when traveling to Japan. Chinese people especially favor Japanese technology, luxury goods, consumer goods such as cosmetics and toothpaste because they believe these items are of better quality than those in their home country.

According to Zing