2024 China Tourism Facts & Figures

In 2024, China's tourism market made a really significant comeback. People were spending more on travel, and the growth in travel expenditure was even faster than the increase in the number of tourists. 

In 2024, inbound arrivals to China numbered 131.90 million, achieving a recovery rate of over 90% compared with the 2019 level.

In the same period, the number of outbound tourists from China surged to nearly 145.89 million, approaching the level of 2019.

Regarding domestic tourism, in 2024, the number of domestic tourists hit 5.615 billion. This represents an increase of 724 million over the same period of the previous year, with a year-on-year growth rate of 14.8%.

Since the end of 2023, China's visa-free policies have really given a huge boost to the inbound tourism market. According to the latest data from the China National Immigration Administration, in 2024, the number of inbound tourists reached 131.90 million, surging by 61% year-on-year.

In addition to the growing number of inbound tourists, tourism spending in China and the satisfaction rate of foreign tourists have also been steadily on the rise. Total spending by inbound tourists reached US$94.2 billion, a 77.8% increase compared to 2023.

In 2024, “China Travel” became a trending search term, with the number of related views on the social media exceeding 1 billion. This is attributed to China's continuous introduction of 18 measures to facilitate foreigners’ entry, such as the 240-hour visa-free transit policy and the visa-free entry for foreign tour groups traveling by cruise ships.

In terms of the choice of inbound tourism destinations, Shanghai is the most popular destination among inbound tourists. In 2024, a total of 6.7059 million foreign tourists visited Shanghai, an increase of 106.2% compared to 2023. Among inbound tourists, overnight visitors numbered 6.0579 million, up 83.8% from the previous year.
 In 2024, China's outbound tourism market achieved a full-fledged recovery. The number of outbound tourists reached 146 million, a year-on-year increase of 66.6%, almost returning to 2019 levels.

The recovery of China's outbound tourism market started with nearby country destinations. Among the top 20 outbound travel destinations, the highest share went to China's Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan regions, accounting for 30.0%. This was followed by Southeast Asia at 14.7%, and Northeast Asia, mainly Japan and South Korea, in third place with 10.6%. North America followed, making up 8.7%, with the United States as the primary destination. Europe accounted for 6.7%, while Oceania represented 2.5%.
 - Tourists born in the 1990s and 2000s accounted for over half of the outbound travel cohort. In addition, young individuals are playing an increasingly crucial role in influencing family decisions regarding outbound travel.
- Guangdong, Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shandong are the leading source markets for outbound tourism in China, together accounting for a relatively high number of outbound trips.
- “Safety” has ascended to the top of outbound tourists’ concerns. It has become the overriding factor when they were making choices about hotels and taxi platforms.

The rejuvenation of the outbound tourism market can be ascribed to the impetus of multiple factors. On one hand, the visa-free policy has made overseas travel easier. On the other hand, with the progressive resumption of international flights and the rational adjustment of tourism product prices, an ever-growing number of Chinese are commencing to plan their outbound travel schedules, eager to explore the world beyond.
 In 2024, China's domestic tourism market sustained steady growth. The number of domestic tourists reached 5.615 billion, marking an increase of 724 million compared to the same period last year, with a year-on-year growth of 14.8%. Meanwhile, the total travel expenditure of domestic tourists amounted to CNY 5.75 trillion, growing by CNY 0.84 trillion from the previous year, representing a 17.1% year-on-year increase.

The recovery of the domestic tourism market is attributed to several factors. On one hand, the Chinese government has implemented a series of policies to boost tourism consumption, such as discounted activities by tourist attractions and infrastructure construction for tourism. These measures have effectively stimulated people's enthusiasm for traveling. On the other hand, as Chinese people's consumption concepts change, more and more people are willing to invest more time and money in traveling.
 

	May Day	National Day
Trips	295 million	765 million
Year-on-Year Growth	7.6%	5.9%
Increasing Rate over 2019	28.2%	10.2%
Tourism Revenue (CNY)	166.89 billion	700.817 billion
Year-on-Year Growth	12.7%	6.3%
Increasing Rate over 2019	13.5%	7.9%

See China Tourism Facts & Figures by Year: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007