Last Updated on April 16, 2025
As China’s outbound tourism continues to recover, the family travel market segment also picks up its pace. More modern travelers (especially Millennial and Gen Z age groups) are planning overseas group tours online, which indicates a shift in preferences and consumption patterns.
Read along as we share the latest insights on China’s family travel market and how foreign marketers can leverage the local digital ecosystem to reach their target audiences.
How Big is China’s Family Travel Market?
China’s family travel sector is enormous and growing rapidly. In fact, during peak holiday seasons like summer and Chinese New Year, families account for over 60% of outbound bookings on Tuniu. These trips often include cultural activities preferred by parents, young children, and other family members.
Chinese people traveling with their families frequently include niche destinations like Maldives (known as a honeymoon tourist spot) in their itinerary. In the same report from Tuniu, the OTA platform reported that 65% of bookings for Maldives are family-related trips.
Mafengwo also noted an increased booking trend for coastal and tropical destinations among Chinese tourists traveling with young kids and other family members.
More importantly, Chinese consumers on a family trip tend to spend more than other tourist segments. They travel in larger parties (often 3+ people) and are willing to pay a premium for comfort and convenience.
During China’s October 2024 National Day holiday, Ctrip reported that family travelers spent roughly twice as much per person as the average tourist. The market segment also accounted for 38% of high-end accommodation bookings in 2023.
These upward trends in the past few years explore the growing local markets for family travel tourism. These consumption patterns will also shape how the segment expands in the long run.
Where do Chinese families travel the most abroad?
Chinese families today are venturing globally, but a few destinations consistently come out on top. In the post-COVID reopening era, we’ve seen some shifts in the ranking of popular spots, though regional favorites remain strong.
Below are the most popular outbound destinations for Chinese family tourists, along with recent trends:
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Nearby Asian Destinations (East Asia & Southeast Asia)
When traveling abroad, local tourists continuously look for destinations and attractions related to Chinese culture. So, it’s no surprise that these travelers want to visit Asian destinations.
Many Southeast Asian nations introduced visa-free entry or simplified visa processes for Chinese visitors, further spurring this surge.
Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea are particular favorites among these consumers, primarily due to shorter, often cheaper trip planning and costs.
Source: Jing Daily
Singapore is listed among the recommended cities for Chinese families because of its safety, cleanliness, and wealth of child-friendly attractions (the Singapore Zoo, Universal Studios, Sentosa Island, and more).
Familiarity with Chinese culture is also a major factor in China’s family travel preferences, which makes closer destinations like Hong Kong and Macau more attractive to local tourists.
On the other hand, Chinese travelers with young children flock to Japan for its local food scene and modern theme parks that kids love (like Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Osaka).
Overall, the common denominator of these destinations is the convenience and availability of travel activities for young children.
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Long-Haul Destinations (North America, Europe, Oceania)
Families tend to seek travel destinations like Europe, Australia/New Zealand, and the United States during longer Chinese holidays like the Golden Week and Chinese New Year.
During the extended 2025 Lunar New Year holiday (8 days long), there was a notable spike in long-haul travel by Chinese families as they seized the opportunity to create more elaborate itineraries.
Touring bus in front of Oxford (Source: China Daily)
By late 2024, the recorded number of Chinese tourists in countries like Italy, the UK, and Spain was approaching pre-pandemic levels. This is unsurprising, especially because many Chinese parents view these countries (especially the UK) as a grand educational opportunity for their kids.
These countries draw family tour groups focused on education. It’s common to see Chinese families go on Oxford and Cambridge University tours. Historical sites and museum visits are also seen as ways to inspire young children to pursue international education.
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Middle East
The UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi) has actively courted Chinese tourists with visa-free entry, and it paid off: it became a breakout destination attracting many independent travelers post-pandemic.
Other countries along China’s “Belt and Road” have also seen increased interest. Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and others reported that bookings from Chinese travelers rose from 40% to 800% compared to 2019.
Chinese tourists at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi (Source: China Daily)
What are the latest Family Travel Market trends in China?
1. Slow Travel & “Quality Over Quantity”
After years of restricted movement, many Chinese travelers are embracing the concept of “slow travel.” Rather than the pre-2020 style of whirlwind bus tours that hit five countries in seven days, there’s growing interest in slower, in-depth experiences.
Surveys show that around 68% of Chinese travelers like to leave some unplanned time during trips to experience local life spontaneously.
Chinese parents cherish the chance to make an unforgettable experience with their kids rather than just check sights off a list. We see this trend in the popularity of vacation rentals, countryside B&B stays, and long-stay hotels.
2. Themed and Niche Tours
Some Chinese families seek themed travel experiences catering to their or their children’s interests. Rather than generic sightseeing, many plan trips around a specific theme, such as sports, nature, or pop culture.
There’s rising interest in sports training tours and ski holidays in niche-specific destinations such as Japan and Switzerland. These travelers also visit these locations for unique hands-on experiences, like snow shoveling.
Source: SCMP
3. Education Tourism (Study Tours)
Before COVID, overseas study tours for kids and teens were quite popular. It’s when Chinese parents send their young children on short-term study abroad programs during summer and school breaks.
These study tours resumed in 2023 and 2024. Families with teenagers are once again booking trips centered on academic enrichment.
Chinese students on study tours (Source: China Daily)
4. Multi-Generational Family Trips
As mentioned, three-generation travel (grandparents, parents, and kids) is huge in China. During the 2025 Spring Festival, multi-gen trips comprised 36% of all Chinese trips, with another 27% being parent-child-only trips.
The trend manifests in choices like cruises, which Chinese families are now treating almost as a tradition for the Chinese New Year.
5. Young Consumers and Digital Influence
The newest generation of Chinese children (often called Gen Alpha, born in the 2010s) is growing up in an environment of smartphones and instant information. Even at young ages, they watch travel vlogs, see posts on Douyin/Xiaohongshu, and form opinions about where they want to go.
Chinese parents, especially millennials, tend to respect their kids’ wishes more than past generations. Their influence is also seen in the tech expectations during travel. These kids are digital natives seeking accommodations with good Wi-Fi and other tech-friendly services.
Best Marketing Strategies To Attract Chinese Family Travellers
Localize your website
When your target audience is looking for family travel services and products, your website often serves as a credible source of information. Because of this, it’s important to make sure that your site is fully translated into Simplified Chinese and localized for China’s digital ecosystem (ICP licenses, hosting, loading speed, and domain name).
Tokyo Disneyland’s Localized Website for Chinese visitors
You must adapt your content to Chinese preferences. If possible, highlight information that local travelers care about, such as safety measures, child amenities, and nearby Chinese restaurants.
Advertise on Chinese OTA Platforms
A considerable portion of trip planning and booking happens through Chinese online travel agencies (OTAs). Right now, marketplaces like Trip.com (Ctrip), Qunar, Fliggy (by Alibaba), Mafengwo, and Tongcheng-Elong dominate travel services in China.
In fact, Trip.com Group (which includes Ctrip and Qunar) accounts for nearly half of China’s online travel market, and Fliggy holds almost one-third.
Your advertisements on these OTA platforms can take different forms. For example, you can create and run product listings as homepage banner ads.
In addition, marketers can bid on ad placements by targeting family travel keywords or opening a flagship e-store where potential consumers can browse and purchase their services in a single interface.
Work with Chinese Travel Influencers
The Chinese consumer market highly values word-of-mouth and trusts recommendations from the public figures they follow.
To reach family travelers, seek out KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) focusing on travel and parenting. These might be mom bloggers who frequently post about family outings or travel vloggers who often mention how a destination is excellent for kids.
Micro-influencers or KOCs (with a smaller follower count but high engagement) can also be more valuable as mega-celebrities in this niche because they often have tightly knit follower communities.
Your Trusted Travel Marketing Partner in the Chinese Market
As China’s family travel market revitalizes, more consumer trends are emerging and shaping how local audiences view foreign brands. Along with this evolution, marketers must be vigilant about the segment’s growth and learn how to maximize their digital presence in the country’s complex but dynamic digital ecosystem.
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At Sekkei Digital Group, we understand the importance of building a digital presence in China’s business scene. With our extensive expertise and hands-on experience, we can help your brand reach the right audiences.
Whether you’d like to work with travel KOLs or launch multi-channel advertising campaigns, we have all the digital solutions you need. Contact us today, and let’s start mapping your strategies.
