Thailand emerged as the top destination for Chinese tourists during this year's Lunar New Year holiday, while Japan saw a sharp decline in visitors amid ongoing political tensions.
Approximately 250,000 Chinese tourists visited Thailand during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday from February 15 to 23, according to the South China Morning Post on Monday. The figure represents an increase of about 60,000 from the same period last year, exceeding the Thai government's projection of 241,000 visitors for February 13-22.
Thailand had experienced a decline in Chinese tourists last year due to safety concerns related to Southeast Asian scam operations, but showed a clear recovery during this holiday period. Fliggy, Alibaba Group's online travel platform, reported that Southeast Asian countries within four hours' flight from mainland China, along with Hong Kong and Macau, ranked among the most popular overseas destinations for this year's Lunar New Year.
Payment volumes expanded alongside the visitor increase. WeChat Pay transactions in Thailand ranked highest among regions outside China during the holiday period, according to Tencent. Offline transactions by Chinese tourists in Thailand surged more than 60% year-over-year.
Chinese tourist spending also rose significantly in South Korea. WeChat Pay offline transaction value by Chinese visitors to South Korea increased 60% from the previous year, ranking second after Thailand excluding Hong Kong and Macau. Malaysia saw Chinese tourist offline transaction value jump 131%, with WeChat mini-program transactions up 40%.
South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore ranked second through fourth among destinations visited by Chinese tourists during the holiday. Chinese tourist spending in South Korea totaled at least $319 million (approximately 460 billion won).
The Lunar New Year is considered the peak travel season for the global tourism industry. China's outbound travel market was worth approximately $140 billion in 2024, according to HSBC. The extended nine-day holiday this year had raised expectations for increased travel demand.
In contrast, Japan experienced a notable decline. Approximately 130,000 Chinese tourists visited Japan during the Lunar New Year period, roughly half of the 260,000 recorded in the same period last year. Analysts attribute this to prolonged Sino-Japanese tensions following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's November remarks suggesting intervention in the event of a Taiwan contingency. Chinese authorities warning citizens against travel to Japan and some Chinese airlines canceling thousands of flights also contributed to the decline.
Air seat capacity on China-Japan routes fell to 125,717 last week, down sharply from 192,262 in the first week of December, according to John Grant, chief analyst at UK aviation data firm OAG.