China Sees Rising Demand For Immersive Travel As Agents Report Strong 2025 Bookings In Small Group And Experience-focused Tours

Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Chinese Outbound Travel Agents Report Stronger 2025, Driven by Bespoke Tours and B2B Engagement

A caller study by Dragon Trail International (DTI) reveals a promising rebound successful China’s outbound recreation manufacture for 2025. Based connected a June 2025 study of 280 recreation agents, 61% reported that business capacity has improved compared to 2024. This maturation is attributed to a rising request for smaller, backstage group tours, one-of-a-kind recreation experiences, and immersive, experiential journeys that spell acold beyond accepted tourism.

These findings bespeak a displacement successful Chinese traveler preferences—from mass-market packages to personalized itineraries that connection deeper taste knowing and memorable experiences. This improvement is reshaping really recreation agents marketplace and waste world destinations.

Human Connections Still Drive Trade Success

While integer platforms proceed to power nan recreation ecosystem, nan study highlights nan enduring value of B2B relationships. Chinese recreation agents still spot beardown value connected in-person engagement to deepen destination expertise and boost income capacity Among those surveyed, 45% favored offline training sessions, 42% weighted familiarisation (fam) trips, and 39% appreciated nan effect of live-streaming initiatives.

This penchant underscores nan request for destination trading organizations (DMOs) and recreation brands to support in-person touchpoints wrong their waste and acquisition strategies. A caller DTI webinar besides emphasized a accordant trend: destinations wherever agents person received training aliases participated successful fam trips are besides those wherever they study nan highest income success.

Japan and Western Europe Lead successful Engagement

Japan stands retired arsenic a accordant leader successful nan eyes of Chinese agents. Over nan past 2 years, it has classed arsenic nan astir visited state for fam trips and nan apical recipient of training programs. This targeted engagement is intelligibly paying off—Japan remains nan number-one world destination for Chinese visitors successful 2025.

Within Europe, recreation waste and acquisition activity is heavy concentrated successful nan West. Every caller B2B arena attended by nan surveyed agents was organized exclusively by countries successful Western Europe. France, Italy, and nan United Kingdom person taken nan lead successful reaching retired to Chinese recreation sellers, ensuring their destinations stay applicable and visible successful a competitory market.

To amended beforehand European travel, agents study placing a precocious privilege connected knowing section culture. Knowledge of history, customs, traditions, and cardinal attractions is important for crafting compelling itineraries that entreaty to discerning Chinese travelers.

AI Integration Accelerates Across Travel Agencies

Another cardinal inclination highlighted successful nan study is nan accelerated integration of artificial intelligence wrong Chinese recreation agencies. A singular 82% of surveyed agents said their companies are already utilizing AI-powered tools. These technologies are chiefly being deployed for intelligent virtual assistants, automated customer service, and real-time connection translation—enhancing some ratio and traveler satisfaction.

This integer translator points to nan industry’s readiness to modernize while simultaneously retaining nan quality touch done face-to-face B2B experiences. Agencies that efficaciously harvester some approaches are positioned to seizure a greater stock of nan increasing outbound recreation market.

Regional Hubs Fueling Outbound Growth

Geographically, Shanghai maintains its position arsenic nan apical outbound root marketplace successful China. It is intimately followed by Hangzhou and Guangzhou, some of which proceed to play a captious domiciled successful world recreation departures. Meanwhile, second-tier cities specified arsenic Chengdu, Chongqing, and broader regions for illustration Sichuan are quickly gaining momentum.

DTI’s Marketing and Communications Director, Sienna Parulis-Cook, emphasized nan emergence successful world aerial connectivity, sharing her excitement astir nan preamble of caller world routes departing from Shenzhen.These developments item nan expanding web of Chinese cities contributing to outbound travel, broadening marketplace opportunities for world destinations.

Outlook for 2025 and Beyond

As recreation assurance continues to emergence and Chinese visitors activity much meaningful, personalized journeys, nan domiciled of well-informed, connected recreation agents becomes moreover much vital. Destinations that put successful supplier training, taste storytelling, and high-touch engagement are much apt to triumph favour successful this progressively blase market.

With AI adoption, location description , and a hunger for extent successful recreation experiences, China’s outbound recreation betterment is not conscionable rebounding—it is evolving into a much divers and tech-savvy unit successful world tourism.