Southeast Asian nations that were counting on Chinese travelers to drive tourism revenues and their economies post-Covid are finding the flow of visitors far from the flood they were hoping for.
China’s slower-than-expected economic recovery has left its population more hesitant to spend money heading abroad. The result: the number of Chinese arrivals in five Southeast Asian countries varied between 14% and 39% in May compared to the 2019 numbers, the latest official data compiled by Bloomberg News show.
The visitor statistics suggest that Southeast Asia’s economic recovery this year will be muted, amid a dimming global growth outlook from tighter monetary policies and China’s faltering growth momentum.
Although Thailand, among the most tourism-reliant economies in the region, is benefiting from a rebound in post-pandemic travel demand, Chinese visitor arrivals are expected to miss the original official seven million target for 2023 by at least two million. Bali, one of the most popular holiday destinations that account for the bulk of Indonesia’s total foreign visitors, saw demand for luxury hotels drop in the January-May period amid a substantial decline in tourists from China, according to securities firm PT Bahana Sekuritas.
Even Singapore, which had credited the travel boom for ruling out a recession this year, has seen numbers disappoint. Chinese visitors during January to May totaled 310,901, compared to 1.55 million in the same period in 2019, according to data from the city-state’s tourism board.
Southeast Asia isn’t alone in hosting fewer Chinese visitors. Japan, too, is experiencing a lower turnout of Chinese travelers compared to pre-pandemic years. Still, the Asian nation is seeing a new group of shoppers that are replacing the once-dominant mainland spenders.
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