China’s travel bug has taken on a social media tinge, and that means experience-focused holidays ... and less shopping

China’s vast and growing middle class remains as curious as ever about the world beyond its borders, as outbound tourism continues to grow by double digits, yet patterns of consumption are shifting in important ways as the tourism boom enters its second decade.

Once renowned as voracious consumers of branded goods while travelling beyond China’s shores, mainland tourists are now beginning to spend – and behave – in a different way, in an important shift which many analysts believe has been brought about by social media.

Among the new priorities are shareable memories that can be exchanged in the form of selfies on popular social networks such as WeChat. It’s a tectonic shift in consumer identity that has a direct manifestation in the type of experiences sought by tourists, and can help to explain the burst in popularity for homages to famous sightseeing spots and the surge in bookings for unique recreational experiences recommended on social media.

“I will definitely choose experience over shopping when I travel. Because I can always shop online, but if I missed those ‘WeChattable’ landmarks and restaurants, I may not be able to go next time. For me, the most important part of travelling is about the experience,” said Xiao Qianwen, a student from Sichuan, who usually does around three WeChat posts per day during her trips abroad.

The shift towards experiential travelling is evident in the latest findings by management consultancy Oliver Wyman. The consultancy, which has been tracking China’s outbound tourism trend for three years, found that only 41 per cent of respondents cited shopping as a trip purpose, compared to 76 per cent in 2017 and 91 per cent in 2016.