iShowSpeed or Not, China Travel Is Cool Again

Shuli Ren, Bloomberg

Live streamer iShowSpeed, who has more than 46 million followers on YouTube, made quite a stir earlier in the year visiting China. His fans watched as 20-year-old Darren Watkins Jr., an American best-known for his worldwide streaming tours, performed backflips on the Great Wall and rode futuristic trains and flying taxis. “China is different, bro,” he marveled.

China is different. As Beijing makes its biggest ever bid to attract foreign visitors, allowing visa-free travel to citizens from 48 countries, tourists will find that, ironically, the very economic malaise they’ve read about is tossing out pleasant surprises. They are treated like royalty.

Overcapacity and price wars are everywhere, and the tourism industry hasn’t been spared. In the third quarter, Marriott International Inc., whose brands include Hilton to Ritz-Carlton, was on average charging about $118 per night versus $129 two years ago. At an almost 70% occupancy rate, Marriott is already doing much better than the rest of the industry, which averages just over 50%.

With a lot of empty rooms, hoteliers are eager to please. Concierge services at Shanghai’s Ritz-Carlton are happy to bring up $2 food deliveries at all hours, while Park Hyatt in the central city of Changsha, known for its spicy cuisine, allows guests to check out as late as 4 p.m. Imagine making these requests in the US!

Overseas visitors, in particular, are showered with attention. Always an attentive bunch, the Chinese are keen to host them again after brutal pandemic-related border lockdowns. But more importantly, people in the hospitality business have realized that foreigners are the only group willing to splurge. In the third quarter, foreigners made 7.2 million visits to China, a 48% increase from a year earlier; visa-free entries accounted for 72%.

Three years after China exited Covid-Zero, it’s clear that domestic tourists have become stingy holiday-goers. Close to 5 billion people traveled in the first three quarters of 2025, an 18% jump from last year. But they spent 5% less per trip. I, for one, have joined the army of discount hunters, impulsively asking for deals wherever I go. Foreigners, on the other hand, have not grasped the full extent of their bargaining power yet.

Adventurous travelers don’t need to stay at big chains — China has a booming boutique B&B scene. Trendy, well-rated guest houses are run by young people who have converted family homes for mixed-use. After all, the job market for this demographic, especially fresh university graduates, is dismal. What’s the point of slaving away in big cities if you can be a business owner and operate a small B&B in the idyllic countryside instead?

On a recent trip to Guilin, our host showered us with tips on where to eat and what to see, and offered free rides to and from the train station. He was practically our tour guide.

Speaking of the high-speed rails, local governments have built a massive debt pile building out infrastructure and are struggling to roll over their borrowings. But there’s one social benefit: Travelers get to trek to remote corners of a huge country without wasting time on transportation.

High-speed rails in China are clean, fast and almost always on time, thanks to a bureaucracy obsessed with efficiency. Trains only make quick stops at stations — the check-in gate opens 15 minutes before departure and closes five minutes before, so you’d better be quick.

In many ways, China’s economy is the opposite of the West, in that consumers have all the bargaining power. iShowSpeed or not, China travel is cool again.

[Abridged]

Courtesy Bloomberg/Shuli Ren