Chinese travelers are expected to significantly impact global travel during the next 10 years, according to a new report from InterContinental Hotels Group and Oxford Economics that provides comprehensive data on China’s outbound travel market.

According to the report, titled The Future of Chinese Travel, China’s travelers are moving toward preferences for long-haul, leisure-driven international travel and both leisure and retail spending are slated to increase.

By 2020, China is forecasted to surpass the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany to become the new biggest source for long-haul travelers. By 2023, Chinese arrivals are slated to be around 97 million per year, marking an annual increase of 5 per cent, and up to 88 million households in China will be able to travel abroad due in part to significant increases in family income.

Global city destinations are expected to benefit most from the growth. New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C., expect between 1 million and 2.4 million room nights from Chinese travelers by 2023, while additional cities, including Sydney, Melbourne, London, Milan, Paris, Tokyo and Bangkok, are predicted to experience an uptick in Chinese demand as well.

More expenditure during trips abroad is also expected from Chinese travelers. By 2023, expenditure per trip is forecasted to increase by almost 75 per cent in nominal terms.

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