Chinese seniors go travelling

Recently, Chinese seniors are more and more travelling but mainly inside China

Harsh past

Nowadays, Chinese elderly people decided to travel more. Now that they retired from work, they want to finally enjoy their lives. “Finally” because these people went through lots of horrible things during their youth.

Indeed, Chinese seniors underwent all the horrible events of the 20th century in China. They survived man-made famine which killed more than 30 million people before the end of the 1950s. Plus, they went through the political anarchy of the Cultural Revolution which followed the famine.

After all these events and their work life, now that they retired, they just want to enjoy themselves. And to do so, they decided to go on a trip.

They want to have fun…

Next to the rise of the travel industry in China, travel agencies and packages catering for the elderly are a growing business. According to Qi Chun Guan, “Before, the elderly saved all their money. Now, they want to go out and see the world. These people have seen their share of suffering in their lives. Now, with economic development, it’s difficult from the previous generation.”

According to China Daily, the amount of Chinese seniors tourists went up to 58% last year and 62% of them have participated in organized tours. This time, UN data shows that the number of Chinese travellers older than 65 tends to double reaching 210 million in 2030.

3 Keys to understand the Chinese Travelers

 

During those trips, the Chinese elderly are looking for fun. In their daily life, they are the people that are dancing to the beat of their music in the middle of the street, they play card games. They are just having fun. And this continues during their journey. Indeed, they are often seen in tourist attractions, laughing out loud.

… Buy only in China

Chinese elderly people are mainly travelling around their own country. Thus, this boom of new travellers brings some sun to the gloomy Chinese economy. But it has nothing to do with their expenditures.

Indeed, Chinese seniors are so used to saving money that even when they are travelling they are looking for good price trips. It exists lots of different types of journeys for them to suit every budget. In tourist agencies, prices start with the low-cost trip which cost 3,000 yuan (around US $490). These cheap prices are for people who only want to travel to their own country, China.

If some of them are only travelling in China, it might be because they have to pay for it. Because of the single-child law settled by the Chinese government, the elderly had to sacrifice themselves. Most of the time, the single kid cannot afford by himself his parent’s retirement fees. Thus they have to pay for their trip by themselves.

According to a Ctrip survey, mainland elderly travellers spend an average of 4,000 yuan (US$615) on a single booked tour, and Shanghainese seniors are the most active among their peers.

While low-cost tours used to be long-time favourites of seniors on the mainland, more older travellers are now opting for luxury journeys with superior cuisine and lodging, according to Ctrip. According to statistics from last year, this older demographic went four times on average per individual, making up more than 20% of all Chinese visitors of all ages.

According to Yong Cai, an assistant sociology professor at the University of North Carolina, “It’s very clear that the next 10 to 15 years down the road will not be so good for the pension system. President Xi Jinping has been saying China has to deal with a new economic reality and part of this is a new demographic reality.”Chinese seniors now make up a considerable market. Modern retirees in China, in contrast to their forebears, desire to experience life to the fullest. They desire to travel, dance, dress elegantly, and eat n 2023. Additionally, they want carefully tailored foods and beverages.

Now that they retired, the Chinese elderly want to enjoy their life by traveling within China. But unlike the Chinese young generation tourists, they are only looking for fun while the young mostly want to buy luxury products. Thus if you want to attract these travelers, you have to give them good trips that give them opportunities like discovering new things and of course a trip that they will enjoy.

Chinese elderly are also heavy social media users, as prefer to stay in touch more than the younger generation.
????Chinesetouristagency Experts Tips:

1. Build a Website in Chinese
2. Use Social media like WeChat and Little Red Book
3. Use Chinese travel Sites, with reviews like Mafengwo 
4. Localize your offer for Chinese People 
5. Pictures and Video for Chinese Travellers 

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