China tourists seek beaches if summer travel plans proceed

In this file photo, Chinese tourists are seen at the beach in Sanya Bay in Hainan Province

Some mainland tourists expect their travel plans can proceed as normal starting as early as this July, according to a recent survey conducted by the mainland’s Sun Yat-sen University.
The survey found that natural attractions such as beaches were the most sought-after characteristics of travel destinations for mainland tourists in the near-term.
That is not ideal for the two special administrative regions of Macau and Hong Kong, which are both highly dependent on consumers from the mainland to keep their economies running. While both regions have beaches, the two urban cities are not known for their natural attractions.
With its enormous domestic visitor market, China tourism may recover quickly from the Covid-19 pounding, even as the rest of the world endures lockdown and social distancing measures. According to official data, “inbound trips” to mainland China numbered 145 million in 2019, while “domestic trips” in that same year reached 6 billion.
With much of that travel demand satisfied within the mainland, the survey concluded that other countries or regions largely dependent on mainland tourists “must bear unemployment and economic losses caused by a shrunken tourism market for quite a long period.”
Beaches, islands, and places with natural attractions are among the most desired characteristics for near-term destinations, according to the survey. Accordingly, the survey anticipates a large demand for destinations within China that offer natural attractions.
However, these are destination characteristics in which Macau is regarded as uncompetitive. Instead, Macau is known primarily among mainland tourists for its casinos, while its “East-meets-West” cultural background might be considered its second-most widely known characteristic among some mainland travelers.
Based on the study, leisure cities with world cultural heritage sites, historical towns, and neighboring regions are mainland consumers’ second choice. Therefore, given the indicated desires of mainland tourists, Macau may remain popular with mainland consumers, being their second-
most preferred type of travel destination.
Those willing to travel this summer still account for a minority of potential tourists, according to the survey. It found that 36% of mainlanders surveyed were uncertain as to whether they will travel right after the Covid-19 pandemic ends, while another 37% were certain they would not travel immediately after. Among the major reasons was concern over a reoccurrence of Covid-19 while they were traveling.
Even though most mainland tourists will likely head to destinations other than Macau, visitors from the neighboring Guangdong Province, known to frequent Macau for hours-long visits, may still give the city a much-anticipated tourism boost.
Currently, Guangdong Province requires all arrivals – including its own residents – to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine upon entry. Macau government officials have signaled they plan to negotiate visitor entry requirements with the province as soon as possible.
Macau ranks among the top five most anticipated tourism destinations for Guangdong residents for after the Covid-19 pandemic, according to another survey conducted by Chinese online tourism company Ctrip. Daniel Beitler & Julie Zhu