。The surge in outbound Chinese travelers over the last decadehas had an impact on a variety of industries around the world.The travelers have both benefited and challenged retailers,consumer goods brands, the travel sector, and hospitalityservices alike. They have had an effect on outlet stores outsideLondon, on German department stores, and on airport duty- free stores worldwide – as well as on every major hotel chainand airline. Over the past year, Chinese travel has become increasingly social and digital, accordingto Oliver Wyman’s latest survey of the subject. Independent travelers, who arecomfortable using digital tools in their daily lives, are going online to plan their tripsand share their experiences. Chinese outbound travel has gone through dramatic changes over the years we havebeen following and describing it, since our first survey released in 2016. Outbound travelused to be dominated by organized tour groups. But today many Chinese are “free andindependent travelers.” Luxury purchases – including buying for others, either forresale or on someone else’s behalf – once drove world-leading per-pax spend. Butthis too has faded as a wider range of Chinese travel abroad and as luxury productsbecome less expensive and more available at home. Chinese consumers have leapfrogged shopping formats that are mainstream elsewhereand taken up mobile ecommerce, mobile payments, and social shopping with gusto.So it should come as no surprise that Chinese travelers are also highly social and digital.Our report, based in a recent survey of 2,000 outbound Chinese travelers, demonstratesthis shift and shows its implications for business. The number of outbound trips by Chinese travelers in 2018 reached 140 million,according to the China Tourism Academy – a 13.5 percent increase over 2017. Thatrise – slower than in previous years – was driven in roughly equal parts by the greaternumber of Chinese able to travel and by individual travelers’ increasing numberof trips, our research suggests. The average traveler in our survey reported taking2.1outbound trips per year, an annualized increase of six percent. Meanwhile, the shareof outbound Chinese from Tier 1 cities reached its lowest level since we began tracking it,reflecting a wider base of travelers. 2 Travelers’ destinations and purposes are also changing. While destinations such asHongKong remain common, the trend in recent years has been towards more-distantoverseas trips. Chinese travelers are increasingly comfortable traveling farther afield:When they were asked where they planned to visit in the next 12 months, Icelandbroke into the top 15 destinations of interest. As travel becomes more frequent, trips areshortening, with the average duration falling by more than one day.Copyright2019 Oliver Wyman 。。。。。。