Understanding the potential of China’s family travel market

Travel motivations can differ significantly depending on the family unit. Photo: Shutterstock/ViewStock.

Dragon Trail International research on the power of Chinese family travellers shows they are likely to budget significantly more for their next trip compared with their child-free counterparts. Benedict Evans spoke to DF&TR stakeholders to determine how they are grabbing a slice of the spending.

China international travel is still in recovery mode, with m1nd-set research tallying 77 million international departures in 2024, representing a 76% recovery rate on 2019. As the numbers grow, the market has become more diverse.

For instance, there has been a marked openness toward being a Free Independent Traveller (FIT), with 42.9% of those who travelled as part of a group in 2023 saying they would choose free independent travel for their next outbound trip and 57.1% wanting to once again choose group travel, according to a 2024 Fastdata analysis.

Now, all eyes are on the high-spending family travel market, with Dragon Trail International’s Chinese Traveller Sentiment Survey (released in September 2024) showing families with children under the age of 18 were more likely to budget RMB30,000-50,000 ($4,000-$7,000) for a trip at 31%, versus 21% for travellers without children.

Spending jump 

Furthermore, a Ctrip report reveals family travellers accounted for 37% of the outbound market during October’s Golden Week last year, up from 34% the year before. Plus, they spent twice as much as the average during the National Day holiday.

“We hear a lot about China’s shrinking birth rate similar to many developed nations around the world, but there are still more than 250 million children under the age of 16 in China, around 18% of the population, and the parents of these children are spending a lot on their kids,” commented Sienna Parulis-Cook, Director of Marketing & Communications, Dragon Trail International.

“Family travel and spending is dominated by parents born in the 1980s and 1990s, the main decision makers for family travel are mothers, and the 30s and 40s cohort are the most important for outbound family travel.”

The motivations for travel often differ significantly depending on the family unit. As noted by Lilly Choi-Lee and Trevor Lee, Co-founders of TravConsult, the tier system of Chinese cities has a marked influence.

“You’ve got so many different types of family unit, and it depends what tier city they come from,” noted Choi-Lee. “It depends whether they’re experienced travellers, and they’re used to navigating travelling, whether it’s overseas or domestic. If they’re first-time travellers or they’re from a lower tier city, their behaviours and what they buy will be different.”

Nancy Liu, President, DFS China.

Trevor Lee added: “Understanding the level of brand knowledge present [within travelling families] is a missing piece in most research presented and delivered. We forget that for first-time travellers walking past duty free and retail areas, if they don’t understand what the store offers in terms of value and price and if there’s not a welcome or familiar language, they are going to walk past because they’re embarrassed, and don’t want to lose face.”

DFS Group tells TRBusiness it attaches great significance promoting to and understanding Chinese families and their travel preferences, especially during peak times such as Chinese New Year.

Catering to the ebbs and flows of the busy seasons – especially the six to eight weeks of the summer holidays from July to September – is key to unlocking potential.

During the 2024 National Day Holiday, average consumption among family travellers was two times higher than the overall travel market, Ctrip data shows.

“Family travel during this festive period has emerged as a new trend,” Nancy Liu, President, DFS China, told TRBusiness, referencing how on 4 December 2024 China’s Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) celebrations was inscribed on the Representative List of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

“DFS meticulously designs around the theme of family reunion for the Chinese New Year, highlighting the gift selection for family members and presenting well-considered options,” she continued.

“Simultaneously, we are acutely aware of the convenience needs of family travellers and offer a seamless online and offline shopping experience.”

To read the full article, access the TRBusiness January/February e-zine by clicking here.