By Joe Bates
Published Feb 20, 2025
As the Year of the Snake begins, Hainan’s once-thriving duty free sector faces mounting challenges, reflecting shifting consumer priorities and a rapidly evolving travel retail landscape.
When it comes to the Chinese travellers venturing further a‑ eld than Hainan, new data from digital solutions provider China Trading Desk (CTD) suggests a major shift in the make-up of this key customer demographic occurred last year. According to CTD’s research, 40% of outbound Chinese international travellers were first-timers, many of whom head to Singapore, Japan and Thailand. Predominantly young, urban and digitally savvy, these consumers invariably hail from Tier 1 and Tier 2 Chinese cities.
These newcomers to international travel are aspirational in terms of their shopping habits, CTD’s survey shows, but being middle-income earners, they are also budget conscious and rely heavily on digital tools for research and purchases. Chinese travel apps such as Ctrip/Qunar (20%), Xiaohongshu (18%) and Douyin (12%) are the preferred channels for outbound trip planning, and digital payment options like Alipay and Wechat Pay are their preferred way to pay.
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