On this week's episode, we're diving into the big shifts shaping winter and Christmas travel for Chinese tourists. Russia has suddenly emerged as one of the hottest outbound destinations, even overtaking longtime favourites like Singapore and the UK, thanks to its brand-new visa-free policy for Chinese travellers. Meanwhile, diplomatic tensions with Japan have caused a sharp drop in China-to-Japan travel, pushing a new wave of tourists back toward Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, although Thailand's recent airport tax increase is raising a few eyebrows. The Philippines, Malaysia, and Cambodia are also seeing renewed momentum, even as Thailand and Cambodia find themselves once again navigating border tensions.

In this week's episode of China Tourism Tuesday (Episode 28), we take a close look at the World Travel Market in London and its implications for the China travel industry. We also discuss insights from CIIE in Shanghai and what these major events reveal about the evolving landscape of international destination branding in China. This episode covers the latest visa and travel regulation updates, new flight routes, and key developments from the front lines of international tourism promotion in China's outbound travel market.

On Episode 27, we're taking a deep dive into the newly released numbers from the October Golden Week holidays, from outbound travel stats and destination rankings to how domestic travel patterns have evolved this year. We'll also look at the growing wave of Russian tourists visiting China, the renewed enthusiasm among Chinese travelers for Europe, and how Chinese educational tourism is transforming (or not?) under Trump 2.

In this week's episode, we sit down with Julia Louw, Acting Chief Tourism Officer at Wesgro, to discuss the Western Cape's ambitious push to grow its footprint in the China market. Julia shares insights into how Cape Town and the Western Cape are positioning themselves amid rising continental competition, and what South Africa is doing to build a strong, sustainable share of China's outbound travel. Tune in to hear how the region aims to replicate its success in the North American, European, and GCC markets - and what's next for the Western Cape of South Africa in Asia.

In this episode, we reflect on the South Africa Tourism Roadshow that just concluded for China, as the China market remains flat from a volume perspective but shows continued growth in high-value spend. China-Thai travel trends and the questions it raises around the ongoing importance of group travel are covered, along with much more of the latest research coming out of the China outbound space.

Today, we chat with Harriet Owalla, a Kenyan travel journalist and African tourism expert. We dive into how Chinese tourism to Africa might unfold, and share our latest research showing East Africa's travel brand on Rednote is strong - while Southern Africa lags behind, and West & Central African travel brands are just emerging.

In today's episode of China Tourism Tuesday (Ep. 23), we take you through some of the most important—and surprising—developments shaping outbound Chinese tourism right now. We look at: * The Thailand–Cambodia border tensions and how they're impacting cross-border travel * A new surge of Chinese visitors to India as visa access normalizes * And our deep-dive report on how Chinese travelers on Red Note are engaging with African destinations—from West to East, Central to Southern Africa. Find out which regions are winning attention, which products are trending, and where the next big growth opportunities may lie.

Today, we sit down with Johan van Schalkwyk of the Aquila Collection, to talk about China's rising interest in South African travel – and how South African brands can crack the China market, much like Aquila Collection has managed to do over the past several years. Listen to Johan talk visas, safety, social media strategy and product offerings as Aquila Collection looks to roll out a whole new level of African safari luxury in 2025.

Today, we speak to Philip van der Walt of African Travel Company (ATC), an Africa overland truck and camping adventure company that has found real traction in the China market. For those who thought the China market was all glamping and group tours, Philip breaks down play by play how ATC found a real foothold in the China market – proving once and for all that, with the right strategic marketing thinking, the curious Chinese travel market can be won over.

How will Pokemon shape the trends of family travel? For  Episode 20 of China Tourism Tuesday, Michael and Charl sit down to talk  about the latest research in Chinese family travel, and the potential  power of children's media to redirect travel trends. Travel  brands across the world are increasingly faced with changing outbound  Chinese travel dynamics, as travel spend flows increasingly to wealthy  family units, more than young, freedom-seeking individuals. What does this mean for local travel economies, social media and strategy?

On China Tourism Tuesday episode 19, we sit down with Charlie Andrews, the man looking to bring China's COTTM  2025 to a whole new concept of travel and consumer show: Panda Lifestyle Festival in Chengdu, Sichuan. Listen  to Charlie outline his vision of the Chinese travel and leisure  economy, the evolving preferences of Chinese tourists, and how B2C shows  are the next frontier in engaging China – on our very first video  podcast, no less!

In today's episode, we speak with Asia travel analyst Gary Bowerman about his research on the China outbound travel market, insights on China readiness among both emerging and historically leading destinations for the market, and how he sees the future of travel in APAC.

In today's episode, we talk to Jo Fuhan Zhou, professional livestreamer at Trip.com, about livestream sales in the tourism sector. We cover content trends, user insights, and how exactly the emerging medium of livestream selling is developing in China – and soon – the rest of the world.

We talk to China trade relations expert and practitioner Amy Cheng about how she sees Chinese travel to South Africa and the broader continent, and shares some of her experiences traversing South African cities, wine culture and wildlife.

In this episode, we talk to Mingjie Wang, Chief Correspondent at China Daily based in London and an award-winning documentary presenter and producer. As a key panel presenter at ATM 2025, Mingjie shares his reflections on the Middle East, China and the Gulf, and how Chinese tourism to this region is set to play out over the next several years.

In today's episode, we discuss the Middle East, Arabian Travel Market, and Chinese travel to destinations such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and beyond. We talk about the future of travel and tourism in the Gulf and Middle East, and how policymakers and businesses can shape their vision of the China market - less impressed by big infrastructure, deeply moved by authentic ancient cultures.

In today's episode, we discuss the hottest outbound travel packages to the Middle East ahead of China's May 1st Golden Week holidays coming up. We also touch on the recent World Tourism Cities Federation's Hong Kong Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit, where cities from Africa to Eurasia and beyond were given a platform to promote their respective destinations to a broad range of China decision makers.

A teaser for our upcoming Rednote report on the brand power of Middle East destinations on China's highest-spending social platform. We rank each country tourism brand, and talk through what exactly China values most about each destination that makes up the region.

Regina Zhuoqing Li, leading travel journalist and influencer, talks to us about the intersection between Chinese outbound travel and the media platforms that shape perceptions. From consumer preferences to key platforms and key decision makers in the outbound travel landscape, Regina breaks down the latest developments and shares insights into the travel influencer space.

We talk to Ella Lu, Media Relations Specialist at Create Consulting, about opportunities, risks, quirks and current trends in dealing with China's complex media landscape. From state media to trade media, Ella covers crisis communications, familiarisation trips, what do avoid and how to best support Chinese media.