China Inbound Tourism in 2015

By the end of 2015, China inbound tourism witnessed a steady increase in comparison with 2014. There were 133.8204 million inbound tourists, including foreigners and tourists from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. 56.8857 million stayed overnight in China, increases of 4.1% and 2.3% respectively compared with the same period in 2014. However, the number of foreign tourists has slightly decreased by 1.4%.
 

	Number of Tourist Arrivals (Unit in 1,000,000 persons )	Growth over the same period of 2014(%)
Total Tourist Arrivals	133.8204	4.1
Foreign Tourists	25.9854	-1.4
From Hong Kong	79.4481	4.4
From Macau	22.8882	10.9
From Taiwan	5.4986	2.5

 

Total Overnight Tourist Arrivals	56.8857	2.3
Foreign Tourists	20.2858	-2.5
From Hong Kong	27.0899	4.7
From Macau	4.6660	10.9
From Taiwan	4.8441	2.5

  Statistics of Foreign Market
In 2015, 25.9854 million foreigners visited China, of which 20.2858 million stayed at least one night, decreases of 1.4% and 2.5% respectively compared with the same period of 2014.

At 63.96%, Asian tourists were still the largest share of foreign visitors. There was a total of 16.6200 million visitors from Asia and most of them were from South Korea. It has been reported that South Korea is now the largest tourist source country of China and vice versa. In addition, the number of Vietnamese tourists has dramatically increased by 26.4% while Russian tourists decreased by 22.7%.

The second largest share was from Europe which contributed a total of 4.8914 million visitors, accounting for 18.82% of the total. Next was the American market. With a total of 3.1153 million visitors, it occupied 11.99% of the whole market share. The fourth largest market was Oceania, with 0.7764 million tourists to China, accounting for 2.99%. Finally, there were 0.5802 million visitors from Africa, composing 2.23%.

Most visitors, a total of 8.2488 million or 31.74%, came to China for sightseeing/leisure activities. Those who came to attend meetings or conduct businesses made up the second largest group, totaling 5.3766 million and accounting for 20.69%.

Analyzed by age, the majority of tourists were between 25 and 44, with a total of 11.8425 million or 45.57%. The second largest group was tourists aged 45 to 64 who totaled 9.4976 million and accounted for 36.55%.
 

Top 17 tourism source countries
Order	Country	Number of Tourist Arrivals (Unit in 10,000 persons )	Growth over the same period of 2014(%)
1	South Korea	444.44	6.3
2	Japan	249.77	-8.1
3	Vietnam	216.08	26.4
4	United States	208.58	-0.4
5	Russia	158.23	-22.7
6	Malaysia	107.55	-4.8
7	Mongolia	101.41	-6.3
8	Philippines	100.40	3.7
9	Singapore	90.53	-6.8
10	India	73.05	2.9
11	Canada	67.98	1.9
12	Thailand	64.15	4.6
13	Australia	63.73	-5.2
14	Germany	62.34	-5.9
15	United Kingdom	57.96	-4.1
16	Indonesia	54.48	-3.9
17	France	48.69	-5.8

 Statistics of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Market
In 2015, 79.4481 million residents of Hong Kong traveled to the mainland, an increase of 4.4% compared with the same period of 2014, and 27.0899 million of them stayed overnight, an increase of 4.7%. However, most of them just traveled frequently to the neighboring Shenzhen on the mainland without staying overnight.

Throughout 2015, 22.8882 million people from Macau visited the mainland, an increase of 10.9%. Among Macau visitors, 4.6660 million stayed for at least one night on the mainland, also a 10.9% increase. Based on the data, it can be seen that more Macau tourists visited the mainland this year, bringing a considerable tourism income share. Macau is neighboring Zhuhai on the mainland and not far from Guangzhou and Shenzhen, so Macau people also goes to mainland more frequently than overseas dwellers.

Also in the same period, there were 5.4986 million visitors from Taiwan and 4.8441 million of them stayed overnight, increases of 2.5% for both.

Data Source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism of People's Republic of China

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