Chinese tourism in Europe - statistics & facts
After three years of lockdowns and strict emergency measures enacted as a response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, China suddenly lifted all domestic and international travel restrictions in January 2023. The global tourism market was long awaiting the ease of all COVID-19 regulations by the Asian giant, as it marked the first step of the recovery path in one of the countries with the highest outbound tourism expenditure worldwide. According to the latest figures published by the country’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the number of outbound departures from China exceeded 40 million in the first half of that year, being twice as many as in the whole of 2020. While the vast majority of outbound visitors preferred to remain within Asia in the months following China’s return to international tourism, Europe still represented the main long-haul outbound destination for Chinese travelers.
