India among top 10 destinations for Chinese travellers in Asia, says report

Mumbai: India ranks among the top 10 popular destinations for Chinese travellers in Asia, especially for social media-influenced millennials, according to a report. As per the India Tourism Statistics 2017, the country had welcomed over 2 lakh Chinese tourists in 2017. In India, Mumbai (69 percent) and Delhi (51 percent) emerged as the top visited cities, as per the Hotels.com Chinese International Travel Monitor 2018. For this report, Hotels.com engaged market research firm Ipsos to conduct interviews during May 2018 with 3,047 Chinese residents, aged 18-58 years, who had travelled overseas in the past 12 months. It said, star-struck by global pop-culture, film and television (62 percent) are now the main sources of inspiration for Chinese millennial travellers, it said. [caption id=“attachment_5022041” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Chinese tourists. Representational image. AFP.[/caption] Out of the 59 percent of Chinese travellers who expressed interest in visiting the timeless monument of love, Taj Mahal, when they visit India - 38 percent said the desire to do so because of it being a favourite television series or film location as well, it said. Interestingly, 26 percent added Taj Mahal to their bucket-list after seeing their favourite celebrity visit it, it added. “While millennials were at the helm of social media influence and trends, the report found no generation was free from social networking’s undeniable draw,” Hotels.com brand general manager, Asia Pacific, Nelson Allen said. About 52 percent of Chinese travellers were wooed by the news feed, and a third of the older generation reported their travel decisions and behaviour were influenced by their digitally-connected children, he added. Travel brag moments and selfies were a huge part of the Chinese millennial travel experience in 2017, with 63 percent using the reverse camera angle to boost those likes and build their social brand. India’s picturesque towns with natural beauty (62 percent), indigenous local food (49 percent) and vibrant local culture (40 percent) were popular for selfie-worthy moments for Chinese travellers when exploring India.