Top Chinese travel hotspots this October Golden Week 2017

6.15 million Chinese travelled abroad during Chinese New Year 2017, the first of two Golden Weeks each year.

That marks a 2.5% y-o-y increase, which bodes well for the National Day Golden Week – the second Golden Week of 2017 – that is coming up soon.

Already, Ctrip – China’s largest online travel portal – is predicting more than 6 million Chinese travellers to head overseas this October Golden Week, which set to happen on 1 October to 8 October this year.

How well prepared are you to welcome this wave of Chinese outbound travellers, who are highly likely to property hunt while overseas?

Capitalising on the Golden Week bonanza

Golden Week has proven to be a business bonanza not just in China, but overseas as well. In fact, the 2015 National Day Golden Week saw businesses in Japan and the UK raking in an estimated $830 million and $770 million, respectively, from Chinese visitors.

This bonanza holds true for real estate as well, as the Golden Week holiday is a prime sales season when Chinese traditionally leverage the week-long holiday to property hunt and is also a period that Chinese developers capitalise on to market new real estate projects.

Considering Chinese buyers are faced with domestic sales restrictions limiting buyer’s opportunities in China, chances are high that many mainland property buyers will be looking overseas for investment opportunities.

Still, to fully leverage the Golden Week opportunity, it’s still vital to find out where Chinese intend to travel to this Golden Week, and according to Ctrip, it’s Asia that’s going to be hot with Chinese outbound tourists this October 2017, with half of the top ten destinations being in Asia – four in Southeast Asia, and one in East Asia.

Top 10 Golden Week 2017 holiday destinations for Chinese

Based on a recent study by Ctrip, the most popular destinations for Chinese this National Day Golden Week are Thailand, Japan, and the US, followed by Singapore, Australia, Canada, Vietnam, Italy, Russia, and Malaysia

We take a closer look at some of the standout locations, which happen to be also smacked in the middle of a Chinese real estate investment boom.

United States (USA)

2.97 million Chinese visitors jetted to the US last year, a 15% y-o-y growth that saw Chinese spending increase 9% y-o-y to reach a staggering $33 billion.

Unsurprisingly, Chinese tourists are the biggest spenders in the US, contributing over $9 million a day into the American economy. The Chinese reign as the biggest spenders in the US isn’t only limited to tourism spending, though.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Chinese are also the largest group of foreign residential real estate investors in the US, which saw them spending a record-breaking $31.7 billion between April 2016 and March 2017.

What drove this 16.1% y-o-y hike in Chinese residential property investment in the US Among some of the very compelling reasons for Chinese include investment security, housing quality, excellent education options, and easier visas for Chinese.

And although traditional hotspots like New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco remain popular investment destinations for mainland investors, an increasing number of Chinese investors are beginning to favour alternative markets, such as Miami and Seattle.

Up your game this Golden Week

With these travel trends in prospect, it’s time to bring your ‘A-game’ to your Golden Week preparations before you lose out on the lucrative Chinese market.